New Matriculation Grads Don’t Have To Further Their Studies To Get A Job
Starting this year, all matriculation graduates will be awarded certificates to enable them to apply for jobs.
By Tang Ruxyn — 08 Jun 2016, 11:06 AM
All matriculation graduates at the Education Ministry's matriculation colleges will receive certificates so that they can apply for jobs, Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid announced yesterday, 7 June
It was reported that these certificates will allow the matriculation graduates to apply for positions in the civil service and private sectors beginning this year.
Mahdzir stated that this notion was done to acknowledge the achievements of matriculation graduates who have excelled through the ministry's matriculation programmes, introduced in 1999.
He added the ministry would issue the certificates to matriculation graduates from 2016 onwards.
"This decision will allow the students to apply for work if they do not want to further their studies," Mahdzir was quoted as saying by New Straits Times Online.
The Padang Terap MP also said that the Education Ministry is going to present the matter to the Public Service Department (PSD) soon to discuss the recognition of the certificate.
It was reported that the 15 matriculation colleges in the country have produced 300,000 graduates so far.
He said over the years, graduates from the ministry's matriculation colleges have been accepted to 11 well-known universities overseas, including the University of Birmingham and University of Manchester in United Kingdom, University of Sydney and Australia National University and University of Wellington, New Zealand.
Locally, he said the ministry's matriculation programme is recognised as major contributor of students to public and private universities.
Discussions with the Public Service Department (PSD) had been ongoing since 2010, said the ministry's deputy director of the Matriculation Division, Dr Baiduriah Yaakub
"There has been no special certificate (for matriculation). The graduates went straight to public universities or universities abroad. Matriculation is to prepare students for study at institutions of higher learning," she said.
With the awarding of the certificates, Matriculation will be equivalent to the Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) and the graduates can apply for employment in the public or private sectors, she added.
The Matriculation programme is a pre-university programme offered by government colleges
According to education website Afterschool.my, 90% of Matriculation slots are allocated to bumiputera students, and 10% to non-bumiputera.
Matriculation programmes can be categorised into two curriculums namely Program Satu Tahun (PST) (One-Year Programme) and Program Dua Tahun (PDT) (Two-Year Programme).
As the names of the programme suggest, the only difference between the two courses is the duration of the programme although the subjects taken remain the same.
Malaysians who are aiming to enrol in local public universities will usually apply for Matriculation programmes because it is easier and costs nothing.