Seputeh MP says Cabinet must intervene if Public Service Department dismisses students who qualify for scholarships under 9 A+ Sponsorship Programme.
PETALING JAYA: The Public Service Department (PSD) must immediately disclose how many SPM students have qualified for its scholarships and whether they will automatically be awarded, DAP’s Seputeh MP Teresa Kok said today.
In a statement today, Kok, who is also DAP national vice-chairperson, said confusion had arisen among students over the eligibility criterion for PSD’s 9 A+ Sponsorship Programme this year.
A few days ago, PSD director-general Zainal Rahim Seman said last year’s benchmark remained unchanged, and that those who scored at least 9 A+ in their SPM could apply for scholarships.
However, Kok said it was unclear if all those who met this standard would get the scholarships.
She pointed to last year’s programme, where 714 students had met PSD’s criterion but only 250 were offered scholarships.
It was only after the Cabinet intervened on April 8 that all 714 students were given the scholarships.
Kok hailed this as the right decision, adding that cost-saving exercises should not affect a student’s chances of pursuing an academic career. But she also asked whether the same would happen again this year.
According to the 2016 SPM results announced on Mar 16 this year, 102 students scored A+ in all subjects taken, with a minimum of nine subjects.
“Till today, the PSD has not revealed how many scholarships it will offer under the 9 A+ Sponsorship programme,” Kok said.
“Neither has it announced that all those eligible will automatically be given the scholarships.”
Stressing the importance of human talent development to the country’s progress, she said the PSD should automatically offer the scholarships to all who qualified.
“If the PSD does not wish to automatically offer to all just like what happened last year, when it was only prepared to offer to 250 students instead of all 714 students who met the criterion, the Cabinet must again intervene this year,” she said.