PUTRAJAYA: Competition to get into public universities has been very high this year, says Higher Education Ministry director-general Prof Datuk Dr Husaini Omar (pic).
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This has led to many applicants not getting into their chosen courses, especially popular ones such as medicine, accounting and dentistry.
“Places at public universities are limited and competition this year has been extremely competitive,” he told the media during a briefing on UPU Online at the Higher Education Ministry on Thursday (Sept 29).
The briefing was held after many unsuccessful applicants took to social media to vent after not receiving offers for their chosen courses even though they scored very well in their STPM examinations.
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UPU Online is the portal for school leavers to apply for courses in public universities.
Husaini said offers were made based on meritocracy, taking into account their academic and co-curricular marks plus their Malaysian University English Test (MUET) band.
Besides that, applicants need to fulfil the course criteria set by the university and, if required, pass an interview or entrance exam.