BERA: The system of student admissions into public institutions of higher learning (IPTA) based on merit, introduced by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 2001 during his tenure as the prime minister, had restricted opportunities to study at the IPTA for Bumiputera students.
Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said in fact, several fields of study in the IPTA had also experienced problems of student shortages following the introduction of the system.
“At that time, there was no demand from any racial group to do away with the Bumiputera quota, but Dr Mahathir insisted on eradicating the system which had impacted the number of Bumiputera student admissions into the IPTA.
“Thus to me, Dr Mahathir had no right to talk of helping to develop Bumiputera education,” he told reporters after officiating the program Bumiputera Education Tour (JBP) 2018 at the Bera Parliamentary Stage at the Bera Rakan Muda Complex, here today.
According to Ismail Sabri, JBP aimed to give a second chance to the students who could not afford to continue their studies at a higher level, besides ensuring that they could compete with students in the urban areas who had basic facilities such as home tuition.
Since it was launched in 2016, the JBP has offered more than 98,000 opportunities to Bumiputera students to study at the IPTAs.
Bera was the 10th venue of the program after Negri Sembilan, Malacca and Johor. — Bernama
