Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he would address the quota system issue of the pre-university matriculation programme intake. The matriculation programme was originally aimed at encouraging bumiputra students to pursue studies in science. During my time, in the 1980s, when I was sitting for the then Higher School Certificate (HSC), the matriculation programme had already been launched. At present, STPM and matriculation students number about 43,000 and 25,000 respectively. While non-scholarship students in public universities must pay their own fees, matriculation students not only get free education, but are given allowances, too.

Source: The Star May 04, 2019 23:26 UTC