A student group has criticised Higher Education Minister Mustapa Mohammad over his annual ritual of telling qualified students that public universities cannot accommodate all of them.

Malaysia Youth and Students Democratic Movement (Dema) secretary Lee Huat Seng said the government has given the same excuse repeatedly without taking steps to resolve the problem.

"Instead, the minister prefers to focus on other subjects instead of the problem," he said in a statement yesterday.

Lee said the government is capable of further financing and developing public higher education institutions. In turn, this will improve the quality of graduates, he added.

"We question how the government can have sufficient funds for running the National Service Programme, purchase arms and develop mega projects, but not have enough money to solve problems in the higher education system.

"We also like to point out that the government spends large amounts of money to send students for tertiary education overseas. This is contradictory with its development of local universities," he added.

PTPTN legal action

According to news reports on March 19, Mustapa cautioned that many qualified students will not be able to gain entry into public universities.

He said some 130,000 applicants are vying for the 70,000 spots available.

Lee said that more than 4,000 students who scored straight As in the recent SPM examination are expected to secure places in local or foreign universities.

In a related matter, Lee criticised the government for taking take legal action against National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN) loan defaulters.

He said many PTPTN applicants are dissatisfied with the three percent interest charged and late loan disbursements.

"PTPTN should therefore review their service and attitude before taking legal action on borrowers. They can start with better communication with borrowers," he added.