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Policy on matriculation entry draws flak for excluding A- students
Bong says under the said implementation, only candidates with straight-A's and A+ grades would receive automatic admission, while those with A- results must undergo a merit-based selection process.
KUCHING (June 29): The Ministry of Education (MoE)'s implementation of the automatic matriculation admission policy has drawn criticism from the Youth section of the Kuching branch of Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP).
Under the said implementation, only candidates with straight-A's and A+ grades would receive automatic admission, while those with A- results must undergo a merit-based selection process.
According to SUPP Youth Kuching branch's deputy secretary Alan Bong, this deviates from the assurance given by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim last year.
'The Prime Minister promised that 'students with 10As regardless of race would be guaranteed entry'.
'There was no clarification that A- grades would be excluded from that definition.
'Hence, the MoE's current implementation, which limits automatic offers to candidates with only A and A+ grades, effectively narrows the original promise,' said Bong in a statement yesterday.
He further claimed that the inconsistency between policy intent and execution had resulted in at least 214 students — who achieved 10As, including A- grades — being rejected, raising concerns about fairness and transparency in policy implementation.
Bong also noted that under the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) grading system, A-, A, and A+ grades are commonly recognised as top-tier results.
In this respect, he said it was understandable that people would interpret 10As to encompass all three variants.
'However, the present policy introduces an unexpected threshold that distinguishes between students based on marginal grade differences.
'For instance, a student scoring 9As and 1A+ qualifies for automatic admission, while another with 9As and 1A- is subject to additional filtering.'
Bong then said this had created a disparity within the same achievement category, undermining the value of a full-A performance and weakening the policy's ability to reward academic excellence fairly and effectively.
'Since the MoE has clarified that no official statement was ever issued to redefine A- as a non-A grade, the policy execution ought to better reflect consistency, clarity, and the spirit of the Prime Minister's announcement,' he stressed.
'If 10As are meant to recognise comprehensive academic excellence, then A- should not be arbitrarily excluded.
'After all, achieving 10As, including the A- grade, is never an easy feat and such academic excellence ought to be fairly recognised and rewarded.
'The introduction of informal, technical exclusions risks sending mixed signals to students and eroding trust in institutional fairness,' he added.
Bong thus called for the distribution of educational opportunities be grounded in academic merit above all else.
He cited Sarawak's ongoing efforts in this area, such as the removal of ethnic quotas in university admissions, provision of performance-based financial aid, and the planned rollout of universal free tertiary education next year, as examples of a more consistent, outcome-focused model.
'Such a system, anchored in clear academic standards, helps to minimise structural inequalities and preserve the integrity of student achievement.
'As Malaysia looks ahead, I believe that the federal government should consider emulating the policies pursued in Sarawak.
'A fairer, more transparent selection framework will not only strengthen national competitiveness, but also ensure our brightest students are retained and recognised,' said Bong.
