At the most recent Fulbright Alumni Association of Malaysia general meeting dinner, our Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed was pushed to answer some pretty tough questions by some of our brightest students heading for postgraduate degrees in the US.

One of the issues raised was the lack of government financial support for postgraduate education, especially for students who had done exceptionally well in their undergraduate studies and had gained admission to the best universities in the US (Read: Harvard). Another issue was why National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN) scholars were not eligible for Public Service Department (PSD) scholarships for postgrad education.

Fair questions indeed. And a possible solution: Instead of giving so many scholarships for SPM students who have yet to prove themselves in university, why not award scholarships to students that have not only proven themselves as the university level, but have also gained admission to top universities? But I guess that’s just how I feel.

[News via The Straits Times]