The Education Ministry is not providing the true figures o­n the intake of bumiputera students into public universities for this year, claimed DAP Socialist Youth (Dapsy) today.

In a press statement, its secretary Loke Siew Fook (left) said the ministry's recent claim that the intake of bumiputera students under the meritocracy system dropped from 68.9 percent last year to 62.6 percent was not accurate.

Last Friday, the ministry said that under the two-year-old merit-based system, the percentage of bumiputera students had dropped although their numbers increased as more places were offered this year.

Not transparent

However, Loke said the ministry failed to reveal that another 10,650 places in various universities were given exclusively to bumiputera students.

These are seats in the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Universiti Malaya (Islamic courses), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (Islamic course) and Kolej Universiti Islam Malaysia (Islamic courses).

"While the intake of students for IIUM is open to non-bumiputeras in certain faculties, UiTM o­nly offers places entirely to bumiputra students, and the Islamic faculties in the three different universities are meant for Muslim students o­nly," he said.

Loke added that if the extra 10,650 places were taken into consideration, the percentage of bumiputera students admitted into public universities will be higher compared to that announced by the ministry.

"It is clear that the Education Ministry is not transparent in revealing the information o­n students intake," he claimed.

He said based o­n the assumption that all the 10,650 places go to bumiputra students, the percentage of bumiputera students will rise to 71 percent out of the total intake and not 62.6 percent as announced by the ministry.

Single system

Loke also said with the inclusion of the new figures into the overall intake, the percentage of Chinese students will be reduced to 25 percent, while the intake of Indian students stood at o­nly four percent out of the total intake for public universities.

Loke said if the government was sincere in implementing a genuine meritocracy system, then it should abolish the different systems used to evaluate students for enrollment into public universities and implement a single evaluation system.

At present, the intake does not take into consideration the different examination systems - STPM, matriculation and other equivalent examinations - that students sit before applying for local public students.

"They should also open up all university intakes to all students regardless of race and religion and do away with the current practice of having two lists of intake o­ne for all students and the other o­nly for bumiputera students," he said.