PUTRAJAYA: The Higher Education Ministry has firmly stated that student admissions to public universities operate entirely on meritocracy, dismissing claims of systemic flaws within the UPUOnline application platform.
Director-General Datuk Prof Dr Azlinda Azman revealed that 78,883 students received offers for bachelor degree programmes out of 109,866 eligible applications for the 2025/2026 academic session.
She confirmed that every student achieving a perfect 4.00 CGPA in their STPM or equivalent examinations who applied through the system successfully secured a university placement.
Azlinda addressed six outstanding cases with technical issues regarding Malaysian University English Test results, noting that four have been resolved while contact efforts continue for the remaining two candidates.
Regarding diploma graduates with 3.99 CGPA failing to secure placements, she explained this resulted from course incompatibility, unmet special programme conditions, or incomplete documentation.
The ministry advises unsuccessful candidates to utilise the appeal window running from September 5 to 14 for reconsideration opportunities.
Azlinda cited a specific case where a student with 99.90% merit ranked 1,129th for Universiti Malaya’s Accounting programme, which only had 85 available spots despite 1,127 applicants having perfect scores.
She emphasised that all selection decisions are automatically generated by the system based strictly on merit scoring aligned with course requirements.
The ministry maintains its rejection of allegations regarding system vulnerabilities while remaining open to constructive feedback for continuous improvement.
Unsuccessful applicants can participate in consultation sessions with UPU officials at the ministry building in Putrajaya from September 8 to 12. – Bernama
