Govt on track to achieve 7% Indian students intake in IPTA this year

PUTRAJAYA: The government is on track to achieve the 7% intake of Indian students in matriculation colleges and public institutions of higher learning (IPTA) by this year, said Socioeconomic Development of Indian Community Unit (Sedic) director-general Prof Datuk Dr N.S. Rajendran.
He said this would provide more young Indians with access to quality education and to ensure that no one was left behind in the development of the country as Malaysia's future belonged to all races.
"The latest data showed that Indians represent only 5.6% of public universities.
"This seven per cent intake is a dream come true for the community following serious efforts are done by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak to ensure proportionate Indian enrolment in institutions of higher education," he told Bernama in an interview here recently.
Last Saturday Najib had said the government was studying measures to increase the number of Indian students in matriculation colleges and IPTA since the target had not been achieved yet.
Najib, who launched the Malaysian Indian Blueprint last year, has outlined several aspirations which include achieving at least seven per cent enrolment in all government colleges, universities, polytechnics and other tertiary education institutions.
Rajendran said Sedic was working closely with the Higher Education Ministry and two other independent bodies to aggressively apply for UPU in order to increase its application pool for public universities
"Our studies show the overall pool application is only 5.6% and this is not enough. There must be a significant increase in the number of applications to achieve seven per cent intake," he said.
"Sedic's ground officers (Sedic IPTA Helpdesk) is working closely with Concerned UM Indian Graduates (CUMIG) and Malaysia Indian Education Roadshow (M1NDER) nationwide to assist, help and advise them on how to make online application on the spot for matriculations and universities since the UPU closing date is April 10," he said.
Asked on the reasons for the low applications, Rajendran explained that many Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) leavers who were unable to obtain matriculation courses at public universities were not keen to go back to school for Form Six and sit for Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) examination.
"Right after SPM, more students prefer to enrol in the private institutions, while some choose to pursue matriculation. They say STPM is tough and they have to do it in the same location. Sedic is working with CUMIG and Minder to promote more students to sit for STPM examination and increase the number of applications," he said.
Thanking the Prime Minister for the 1,500 matriculation seats for the annual intake, Rajendran said as of 2017, statistics of Indian students enrolment showed 5,739 had applied and 1,479 or 7.26% were chosen based on the merit system.
"We are proposing to the government to seriously consider for this intake and 700 extra spots for Indians in public universities," he said.
Rajendran said Sedic would be launching a new scheme for 1,000 Indian youths especially those from Bottom 40 (B40) income bracket, who were interested to pursue skills training under the Department of Skills Development soon. — Bernama