GABUNGAN Patriotisme dan Perpaduan Kebangsaan (GPPK), comprising over 60 member non-government organisations, applauds the long overdue announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim that now gives hope to all poor students nationwide.
His instruction to all public universities in the country to not refuse the admission of students who cannot pay fees because they are poor is truly a most welcome reform for the country’s good future.
GPPK has always maintained that students from poor families must also get to pursue higher education as money, status, influence and affordability should never be the standards to qualify for admissions.
Indeed this is the first time in our nation’s history where “no children of ours anywhere, from any race, who are poor and cannot afford, can be refused admission to university” as was appropriately spelled out by Anwar.
And for that, we must give credit to the unity government under our 10th prime minister’s leadership.
On that note GPPK hopes “Little Napoleons” who may be operating in public universities do not jeopardise such courageous efforts to jump-start the reform of our education policies and systems.
Parents must not hesitate to report any abuse of the instructions from the prime minister. GPPK will through its member NGOs monitor the ground for any such failures to abide by this long-awaited reform.
GPPK joins tens of thousands of parents who can breathe a sigh of relief for this good news from the prime minister.
We encourage students – especially from poor families – to seize this opportunity and excel in their studies.
Education liberates the hard-pressed. Education multiplies the nation’s human capital. Affordability issues governing admission into universities therefore will henceforth never hold our nation to ransom. – October 17, 2023
Gabungan Patriotisme dan Perpaduan Kebangsaan comprises ex-servicemen, civic society and religious groups, as well as other non-governmental organisations and their affiliate members. The grouping aims to give a voice to the people and advocate national unity based on the Rukun Negara, federal constitution and laws