The completion rate for Institute of Technical Education (ITE) Higher Nitec students who were admitted to polytechnics with an accumulative GPA below 2.5 "may not be as good" as those with 2.5 and above, said Second Minister for Education, Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman.
Previously, it was announced that the minimum entry requirement for ITE students to progress to polytechnics will be raised from GPA 2.0 to GPA 2.5, starting with the 2027 polytechnic intake.
However, Maliki explained in Parliament on Aug. 3, 2023, that opportunities are still available for the students that didn't meet the entry requirements, such as through technical or work-study diplomas offered by ITE, equivalent to polytechnic diplomas.
Most ITE students meet new requirements
Maliki addressed various Members of Parliament's (MPs) questions on how the government plans to help ITE students affected by the new GPA requirements.
NCMP Hazel Poa inquired how many ITE students with a GPA between 2.0 to 2.5 enrolled in polytechnics.
Maliki answered that most Higher Nitec students admitted to polytechnics already have an accumulative GPA of 2.5 and above.
About 4000 ITE graduates are expected to qualify to progress to polytechnics each year.
He said the ministry expects the number of ITE students progressing to polytechnics to remain stable, even with the raised GPA entry requirements.
ITE adequately prepared for polytechnic education
MP for Jalan Besar Wan Rizal Wan Zakaria then questioned the Second Minister for Education whether ITE students are adequately prepared for the academic rigour of polytechnic education.
In response, Maliki said that the ITE curriculum structures had been revised to allow ITE students to smoothly transition to Higher Nitec, where they can be equipped with the proper foundation to prepare for their mapped polytechnic courses.
He pointed out that ITE students can also apply for the Early Admission Exercise should they realise they might not want to pursue polytechnic courses related to their current course.
Maliki said doing so presents a good opportunity for these students to present their own credentials and prove that their overall GPA is good enough to secure a slot in the polytechnic.
Structural changes
Maliki revealed that some structural changes are being made to allow ITE students to have a feel of the kind of courses available.
This includes a common entry programme, where students have a semester of generic programmes in school before they decide to major in a particular area.
There is also career guidance provided for students at the ITE level to allow them to make an informed decision about how they can get into a more suitable course in polytechnics.
Maliki added that a lot more flexibility had been designed at the polytechnic level to allow students to adjust and learn how to cope with the demands of polytechnic education, especially for those struggling in the earlier semester.
University admission flexible
Wan Rizal questioned if a similar GPA concept would be applied to polytechnic students who wish to join universities upon graduation.
He added that many of his students who graduate from the polytechnics and have good GPAs could not secure university slots.
"I think the university admission today is flexible," Maliki answered, adding that universities take in students with different entry capabilities and qualifications.
With that said, he acknowledged that universities have their own criteria to consider when admitting students.
He encouraged students to be more flexible and open-minded in their career paths without being fixated on just getting a university education.
"There are many other pathways that we are creating," he said.
These pathways include going to work first and returning to education after, taking modules or "micro-credentials" that universities are exploring today, so they can take modules relevant to the industry and work they are in and subsequently aggregate these modules to be awarded as a degree later on.
"We ready our students with the fundamentals"
Sengkang GRC MP Jamus Lim asked if the same consideration to ITE students might be applied to students at the secondary level as well, who may feel more constraints in the kind of subjects they are "forced" to study and sometimes feel that certain topics are not completely related to their subsequent career aspirations.
To his questions, Maliki revealed that secondary-level students would have been exposed to polytechnic and ITE courses along the way.
For example, he said some students could also take polytechnic modules during secondary school to "give them a flavour" to the courses they may take.
He explained that career guidance is also available for students at secondary levels for them to identify the options available to them after they graduate.
Maliki said they also encourage alumni to return to their secondary schools to serve on school boards.
"We ready our students with the fundamentals — math, science, as articulated by Dr. Wan Rizal earlier, from the perspective of getting exposure to the kind of careers that are available when they grow up. We do explore other opportunities for them."
Top image via MCI/YouTube and H 2/Google.