I wish to refer to Higher Education Minister Mustapa Mohamed's advice to Malaysian students that money is not everything and that they should return home after their studies and the reply by UK Executive Council (UKEC) for Malaysian students chairman Wan Mohd Firdaus.

First of all, I wish to comment that UKEC has been made out to represent 80 percent of the 12,000 students in UK. I understand that all the 58 student societies' presidents are automatically committee members of UKEC and the UKEC survey involving more than 100 professionals and mainly medical students, represents only about one percent of the total number of students. Most of the Malaysian students are either too busy with their studies or they are typical of our Malaysian apathetic attitude.

So, suffice to say, it is not representative of all the students in UK. Whether or not a student decides to stay on after completing his studies in the UK depends on a number of factors, including personal reasons, job prospects and immigration rules in the UK. Generally, market forces will influence too.

For example, if a newly-qualified engineer finds UK in recession, much as he wants to stay on, he is unlikely to find a job. With stricter EU rules on employment, many Malaysian students are unlikely to stay on, and their return should not be taken as a change in our favour due to patriotism.

It is surprising how our system of awarding scholarships has failed to control and ensure that students return upon graduation or that the guarantors pay back the amount expended. It is amazing to know of cases where the students returned and upon confirmation that there are no vacancies for them, they were released from their bonds!

Either the planning was bad, including irrelevant or unnecessary courses, or the officers did not consider alternative placements in other departments.

The government should also consider cases of private students interested in pursuing post- graduate courses. Only those who are academically inclined and passionate about their courses of study would be really keen to study further. A higher standard of minimum requirement, say, first class honours, can be set, thereby ensuring a higher rate of success. A strong recommendation from lecturers of universities known for their high standards in certain fields can be added as a condition. For those genuinely in need, they would be only too glad to accept conditions of return upon completion.

I know of a case where the student is expected to obtain a first class honours. Her fellow students have already received offers to read their Masters from the London School of Economics and Oxford University but she has to consider European universities because of the lower course fees. Even her lecturer, a German, thinks it is a pity that she could not continue in UK.

As a comparison, both the UK universities require fees of between GBP13,000 to GPB16,000 compared with only 500 euros, payable in 10 instalments, if required. If only our government recognises such cases and is willing to offer scholarships, we would have brain gain instead.

Unless and until our government decides to change its policy of awarding scholarships to one based on merit and the country's needs; change its policy of promotion to one without discrimination and improve remuneration packages and research facilities to be on par with other countries, it will be futile to expect foreign graduates to accept lower salaries, poor promotion prospects and lousy conditions based on nationalism and patriotism.

To those discriminated against, does the government still expect patriotism?