Be More Transparent In Selecting Scholarship Recipients, PSD Told (Malaysia)
The Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Saturday urged the Public Services Department (PSD) to be more transparent in selecting scholarship recipients.
Its Youth Chief Alan Sim said students and parents have doubts whether the PSD really followed the selection criteria of academic performance, extra co-curriculum activities, family background and performance during the interview.
“Parents are disappointed when their children with straight A1s failed to receive the scholarships when academic excellence is given higher weightage. Reasons why the students failed should also be pointed out.
“It is high time the PSD is transparent in the selection of scholarship recipients. There are too many cases of deserving students not being offered the scholarships,” he told reporters.
Sim expressed his disappointment over this year’s PSD scholarship appeal results as only five of the 143, including 64 students who scored straight A1s in the state, were successful. The results were released Friday through the PSD website.
He said the students approached the SUPP Education Bureau to appeal for the scholarships.
“We will not keep mum on this matter. SUPP will continue fighting for their cases through the party’s federal representatives Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui (Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister) and Datuk Robert Lau (Deputy Minister of Housing and Local Government) in next week’s federal cabinet meeting,” he said.
Sim said the recipients’ names ought to be made known to the public as the scholarships were awarded through the taxpayers’ money.
This year, the PSD offered 1,300 scholarships to students who excelled in last year’s Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination to pursue overseas degree programmes.
Last year, the SUPP Youth successfully helped 39 students out of 95 who appealed through the movement.
– BERNAMA
Related Tags: Alan Sim, Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui, Datuk Robert Lau, Education News, Housing and Local Government, Malaysia, People ' s Party, People's Party, Public Services Department, Scholarship, Student, SUPP Education Bureau