In the recently announced Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) results, there were 14,179 students or 3.7% of all students who scored A+, A, or A- in all subjects. In the past, SPM students who obtained 10A and above will be automatically admitted into government matriculation colleges. However, at the end of April this year, the admission qualification was revised, where only those who obtained 10A or 10A+ and above will be automatically admitted into government matriculation colleges. A- grade is no longer counted as A. 

With more and more students obtaining straight As, the tightening of automatic admission condition is inevitable due to the limited number of places in government matriculation colleges. In addition to building more public universities to allow a greater number of Malaysians receive higher education, the Ministry of Education also needs to urgently examine the quality of courses taught. Stagnant pay, skills and jobs mismatch are serious problems facing Malaysia’s graduates. Failure to produce work-ready graduates caused nearly 40% of Malaysia’s tertiary-educated workforce to be underemployed. Last Oct, a study by the Ministry of Finance showed that more than 50% of fresh graduates have been drawing a monthly starting salary of below RM2,000 over the past decade. Take a look at their majors and take a look at what the business sector wants. The cause of the problem is so obvious.