I WAS added up with the perception that education is an effective device to uplift human beings from poverty. As schooling does no longer come reasonably-priced in Malaysia, each hopeful scholar endeavors difficult to gain educational excellence with a view to relaxed scholarships or monetary aid.
I am a victim of the injustice in our education gadget, which seems to defy the global trend by awarding scholarships to students based no longer on academic excellence but racial agendas.
I labored hard to reap full As in UPSR and PMR, and 8A+s, 2As, and 1 A- in SPM. In the quit, the result of my difficult paintings turned into zero scholarship for my tertiary education. I controlled to push forward regardless, way to a lessons fee waiver from Methodist College Kuala Lumpur.
I brushed off my disappointment and endured, and fortuitously, I finished my pre-college qualification because of the top pupil in my elegance. Once more, no openings of sponsorship were available.
I applied for a place in USM despite knowing that the risk was slim for the reason that priorities are commonly accorded to matriculation and STPM students. My performance for the duration of the interview session need to were lackluster due to the fact I did no longer cut.
People would possibly wonder why I did no longer opt for matriculation or STPM inside the first location. Firstly, there may be a quota system in matriculation that places non-bumiputra students like me at a wonderful drawback. Secondly, we do now not get to choose our diploma of desire, as many elements except merit are considered.
I did now not desire to go away the rest of my lifestyles to destiny and the whims of those humans in price who’ve for many years been throwing meritocracy out of the window.
Nonetheless, my incredible parents devised an answer for me to also my schooling. They dipped into their retirement fund (they reached retirement age at the stop of my secondary education) and additionally borrowed a hefty sum from my uncle. Meanwhile, I carried out for every other mortgage from the National Higher Education Fund Corporation ((PTPTN).
I also implemented for and efficaciously secured, a half-mortgage half of-furnish scholarship from Kuok Foundation to take a look at dentistry on the International Medical University (IMU).
Looking returned now, I probable must have sought less expensive alternatives in universities. However, I knew that my mother and father might need to provide the high-quality for me.
Again, I labored difficult at IMU and controlled to graduate as a pinnacle pupil in my graduating elegance. I became elated, but the pleasure changed into short-lived once I found out that regardless of being the best scholar inside the elegance, I became no longer eligible for the PTPTN loan exemption due to an exceptional assessment machine and crude conversion approach.
Thus, I changed into conclusively denied any financial sponsorship from the government in the course of my schooling adventure.
The government is encouraging Malaysians remote places to return and make a contribution to the united states. But how can we be assured of our destiny if a device that belittles our hard paintings is in place?
I have tried unique avenues at different stages of my instructional adventure to get my hands on any scholarship from the government based on merit; however, to no avail.
Insanity is doing something over and over again but expecting different consequences. One can only hope for a silver lining inside the cloud of challenges confronting Malaysian students now.