The recent claim by Education Minister Musa Mohamad that meritocracy is practised in the local university admission system has been questioned by medical students.

They pointed out that no common system exists for the selection of students, who mainly enter the Universiti Malaya medical faculty based on either STPM or matriculation results.

Additional students have been admitted to the faculty via a twinning programme with the privately-run Perak College of Medicine (PCM), although its admission standard is allegedly not on par with that of the central processing (UPU) system.

Director of the Education Ministry's higher education department, Prof Dr Hassan Said, and PCM CEO Abu Bakar Hashim were both unavailable for comment today.

UM officials refused to respond to repeated requests for clarification.

Pang Hoong Chee, a third-year medical student at the university, said these three entry routes have different evaluation standards for candidates.

He said this in a letter to the press and MIC, to refute a New Straits Times report last Wednesday quoting Musa as dismissing complaints of unfairness in the intake into the UM medical faculty,

"The STPM bears little similarity to the matriculation course - each differs in the syllabus, format and evaluation system, and has its own degree of difficulty," he said.

'Sweeping statements'

Pang said Musa should compare the academic results of candidates considered from all three routes - STPM, matriculation and PCM examinations - "before jumping to the conclusion that all medical students in UM are of equal merit".

"He must back up his statements with statistics and details, and not make sweeping statements," Pang said.

Critics have long questioned the basis of the Education Ministry's claim that meritocracy is being practised in the selection of students for public universities.

The chorus of criticism intensified in May, when figures showed that non-Bumiputera students fared worse under this system than under the previous quota system.

Last Wednesday, MIC president S Samy Vellu questioned the admission of only one Indian Malaysian STPM graduate to the UM medical faculty this year, compared to 96 Malay Malaysian students and 63 Chinese Malaysian students.

Under the quota system, 16 Indian Malaysian students had been admitted to the course annually. However, this dropped to five last year.

Comparison of results

Musa came under further fire from another medical student, who drew a comparison between detailed examination results to show that under-achieving students have been admitted to the UM medical faculty.

"Generally, those admitted with STPM qualifications are straight A students, which should compare to matriculation results of 4.0 under the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) scale," said the student, who declined to be identified.

"However, some matriculation students have grade averages as low as 3.68. This shows there is already a discrepancy in admission standards."

(A CGPA grade ranges from 0 to 4.0 with the latter being the highest attainable level.)

In addition, he pointed out that these same students had generally obtained lower grades even at SPM level, showing malaysiakini copies of comparative student records to back his claim.

These showed that students with STPM qualifications had scored straight A's in the SPM examination.

In contrast, a number of matriculation students had scored as low as C4 or C5 in one or more of the three pure science subjects - physics, biology or chemistry.

UM Medical Faculty dean Prof Dr Mohd Amin Jalaludin could not be reached for comment despite several attempts. His secretary would not connect the calls, saying that inquiries should be directed to Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Hashim Yaacob. However, he was also not available.

Private students

The student further alleged that students from the twinning programme with PCM since 2001 have not been subjected to the same stringent selection procedures.

The grades of these students - whether via STPM or the matriculation course - are generally lower.

In an advertisement for the May 2003 intake, PCM said it offers graduates a 'MBBS University of Malaysia Medical Degree' through a "collaborative education agreement with UM".

Applicants were required to have obtained at least a B in two STPM pure science subjects or a minimum CGPA 3.0 in the matriculation course.

Students with equivalent A-level, International Baccalaureate qualifications could apply as well. Also accepted were Universiti Teknologi Mara diploma holders in Science or Microbiology, if they have minimum grades of one A and two C's, or two B's and one C.

When contacted, the PCM chief executive's secretary said he would revert with a response, but could not say when.

Resources stretched

The student outlined several consequences of admitting these private students to UM. Each year, 70 of them are taken into the medical faculty, adding to the 160 students admitted via the UPU system.

"Previously, 16 students shared a lab but now, there are 23, which is about a 50 percent increase without any addition in space, facilities or the number of lecturers," he said.

"If the university can accommodate another 70 students per year, why doesn't it select better-qualified students via the central system? In this way, it could preserve its standards."

Like regular UM medical students, PCM students undergo pre-clinical training at the university for half of the five-year course.

The only difference is that the two sets of students complete their practical training at different hospitals - PCM students go to Ipoh Hospital, while UM students are assigned to UM Medical Centre or to Klang Hospital.

What rankles the regular students is that the private students entered the course with lower qualifications, but then have an opportunity to graduate with the same medical degree, the student added.