Deputy Minister Mustapha Sakmud calls for consistent university admission policies through alternative channels to ensure merit-based selection.
KUALA LUMPUR: Public universities should adopt the same approach as the UPUOnline system when managing student admissions through alternative channels or direct intake.
Deputy Minister of Higher Education Datuk Mustapha Sakmud said control over applications outside the main system is crucial for an organised and balanced process based on eligibility.
“For the main channel (UPUOnline), we can control it… but university admissions through other channels need to have a clear policy to ensure that universities have a consistent approach in managing student intake and applications based on merit,” he said during the winding up of the debate on the Supply (Budget) Bill 2026 at the committee stage for the Ministry of Higher Education.
Most admission complaints stem from applicants not referring to guidelines when filling out UPUOnline applications, leading to inaccurate programme and institution selections.
Recurring problems occur annually because students, parents, teachers, and schools fail to guide applicants in understanding UPUOnline guidelines.
Applicants often enter up to 12 programme choices without evaluating their suitability or merit requirements.
On research and development, Mustapha revealed that more than 200 R&D products have been successfully commercialised between 2022 and 2024.
A total of 286 knowledge-based technologies were developed during this period, generating RM43 million in revenue.
The achievement involving 20 public universities demonstrates high potential for university innovations to become impactful industry products.
The ministry has provided start-up funds to university spin-off companies through the National Spin-off Companies Fund to encourage research commercialisation.
Priority is given to research with high technology readiness levels and clear market prospects.
Strategic university-industry collaborations ensure research aligns with industry needs and can be commercialised quickly.
The Dewan Rakyat approved the RM18,598,006,200 allocation for management and development expenditure for the Ministry of Higher Education in Budget 2026.
The approval came through a majority voice vote after 23 members of parliament debated the matter.
The sitting will continue on Monday.
