PSD Scholarships: Drastic Changes For Drastic Needs

The Public Services Department (PSD) or JPA (Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam) scholarship is a famous phrase among SPM school leavers. It is as if the PSD is the be-all and end-all of their hopes for tertiary education. No small wonder then there is always great hue and cry each time the PSD results are made known.

Almost a thousand top scorers are turned down this year. As with previous years, there are cases of even 13A1 scorers who failed to receive scholarships. Many of them may end up feeling very bitter and disillusioned.

The government, especially the Public Services Department, always comes under fire for this – not without reason – though I believe the government is trying to correct this situation. Its efforts obviously have yet to show any tangible results.

PSD is now in a trench of troubles dug with a multi-blade shovel. The blades on this shovel work in tandem. Each time the shovel is lowered or raised, at least one blade digs the trench deeper.

One blade PSD can do without now is provision of overseas scholarships. Each overseas scholarship is worth as much as a few hundred thousand Ringgit that can only benefit one student. The increase of quota for non-bumiputera students for overseas scholarships is of little consolation.

In my opinion, this fund should be used to sponsor triple that number of eligible students in local higher education institutions instead. After all, aren’t we trying to promote Malaysia as an educational hub? I find it rather ironic that we preach this but spend millions on sending our students overseas.

The main grouse among students is that they could not get the overseas scholarship, which is what they clamber for. If the cats are fighting over the fish, take the fish away to stop the fight.

I read complaints in some blogs that students who received overseas scholarships do not honour their contracts and end up working overseas instead of returning to serve the country. That is why I suggest taking away the fish.

With these millions of ringgit freed, several thousand more deserving students can thus enjoy scholarships. This drastic move could be a cash-saver for the government especially in this financially restrictive period.

It could even help reduce the brain drain problem that has been plaguing the country. Meanwhile, let us admit it: most of brain drain occurs among mostly non-bumiputera professionals.

So many of our rejected non-bumiputera top scorers are snatched up by Singapore and other countries, which willingly offer them scholarships. After completing their studies they eventually find employment there and stay on. There go our talents.

To make matters worse, PSD is not transparent to the public and to the rejected students. This blade on the shovel has been the source of greatest discontent.

The Department should give students legitimate reasons why they are rejected instead of keeping mum or giving vague reasons, which only agitates the already firm belief that it is racially biased. If PSD now grants scholarships based on merit more than before, they should make known the numbers which prove this as the people have become skeptical over the years.

A less prominent blade on the shovel represents the lowering of SPM standards. I can confidently say that over the many years, the quality of an A in the SPM examination has degenerated significantly compared to 20 years ago. During my days, a senior Cambridge distinction for any subject is no small matter and certainly top grades didn’t abound in abundance then.

Now, whether in the private or public educational institutions, academicians are expected to produce a high number of passes. When the number of failures is high, they would be tempted to reduce the passing grade.

Consequently, this would lower the marks required for an A. I do not doubt the intelligence of our top scorers, but it’s sad to say that the astounding increase of 2-digit A1 scorers could be due to the compromise of the passing mark.

The change of government policies takes time. Instead of mourning rejection, students could look into a wide range of scholarships offered by locally by public and private organizations in Malaysia. Simply google ‘scholarship’ and they will find a long list of options. For those who wish to study overseas, there are actually many scholarships offered by foreign universities.

Another perhaps revolutionary suggestion I wish to make to PSD is to restrict provision of scholarships for courses in only critical fields such as medicine, psychiatry and dentistry.

Based on statistics from 2005 to 2007, PSD gives scholarships for almost any field. I feel this is a waste of government funds and taxpayers’ money. Public services is about serving the public. It should focus its resources on doing so.

Perhaps our public universities cannot cope with the number of qualified students wishing to study medicine. In that case, PSD could give partial scholarships or interest-free, flexi-payment loans for those wishing to go overseas.

The country can thus access and retain these invaluable talents while realizing the students’ dreams and abilities. The government then indirectly addresses racial unity, as resentment is one of the roots of this thorny issue.