A student who did not get a place in a local university was surprised when someone from a college called him to say it was submitting an appeal on his behalf to the Unit Pendaftaran Universiti (UPU).The director at UPU, Pn Rahmah Hussein said that it could be a con-job.
The person asked him to pay RM500 upfront so that he could book a hotel room for an interview.
I told the student not to entertain such callers. The appeal period is over and the UPU has already allocated all the places. It is very sad that some people are using devious means to sell places in local universities.
However, an unnamed private college was apparently linked to the affair. This private college has "tie-ups" with Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), University Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) to offer certain degree courses. An official at the college stated that:
The private college is fully moderated and monitored by the universities, the college would ask for a RM500 deposit to process each application.
It is now quite a trend for private colleges to offer degree programmes from local universities. Stamford College has a "franchise" programme from University Sains Malaysia to offer diplomas and degrees in Computer Science. SAL Colleges have various programmes offered by UPM, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) and even an external jurisprudence degree from Universiti Malaya (UM).
Whatever the case, my advice to prospective students will be to be very careful. Many of these colleges, while offering valid degrees from the relevant local universities, may not possess the necessary teaching faculty as well as facilities to ensure that you receive the best possible education to do well in your examinations.
u can't buy places in public uni but u definitely can in private institutions.
ReplyDeleteShould not just dismiss it as a con job. I think it would be appropriate to investigate further to determine if it was not some insider actually keeping some places and now trying to auction them off.
ReplyDelete"Many of these colleges, while offering valid degrees from the relevant local universities, may not possess the necessary ......"
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. There seems to be a great proliferation in the number of institutions offering degree courses (I write particularly with respect to pharmacy), however many cannot seem to attract staff of the right calibre or attitude.