PETALING JAYA: The final report on recognition of the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) will likely be submitted to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in his capacity as acting education minister soon.
“We have contacted the education minister’s office and are awaiting his instructions,” chairman of the task force on recognition of the UEC Eddin Khoo told theSun yesterday.
Submission of the report has been delayed several times. It was scheduled to be presented to then education minister Maszlee Malik in July last year but was postponed to September.
Later, the submission was set for Jan 6 but Maszlee stepped down.
The task force was set up by Maszlee in October 2018, and among those who sit on the panel are Chinese education group Dong Zhong deputy president Tan Yew Sing and Islamic Youth Movement of Malaysia president Mohamad Raimi Abdul Rahim.
Khoo said the panel met 83 groups and individuals to gather feedback and insights.
“The UEC issue has been there for close to 40 years. It has been highly politicised and racialised, so we have to tread carefully.”
“Given the sensitive nature of the issue, we decided to go to the ground and interact with groups and individuals such as education experts, government officials, universities and the civil service for feedback,” Khoo added.
“We conducted 83 interviews, each lasting about three hours and we have produced a 10,000-word report.”
He clarified that the postponement of the submission of the report was requested by him and had nothing to do with developments within the ministry.
The UEC, a unified examination for independent Chinese secondary schools that do not follow the national education system, has already received recognition from some states as qualification for entry to public universities and the public service. Recognition of the UEC was one of the pledges made by Pakatan Harapan in its manifesto in the 14th general election.
