KUALA LUMPUR: A National Education Council will be formed to find a solution for public university admissions as existing public university places are unable to keep up with high-achieving students.

Deputy Minister of Higher Education Datuk Mustapa Sakmud said a government study has found that the number of high achievers has increased, leading to intense competition for limited places in public universities.

The Ministry of Higher Education, together with the Ministry of Education, is working to establish a National Education Council to address current challenges in public university admissions and ensure more students gain entry, he said.

“The competition for public university places is extremely fierce,” he said, adding that the government has already shifted its admission policy to a merit-based system—90 percent based on academic results and 10 percent on cocurricular achievements.

He said this during the question time at Dewan Rakyat on Monday.

PAS MP for Kuala Krai, Abdul Latiff Abdul Rahman, raised a supplementary question, noting that under the current application system, students can select up to 12 course options—even though they may genuinely be interested in only one to three (or at most five) programs.

The rest, he said, are often chosen just to complete the application form.

In response, Mustapa explained that the public university admission through UPU Online system provides students with 12 options for greater flexibility.

“Under the current UPU system, students can also see the competitiveness of each program—how in-demand it is in the market,” he said.

“Our hope is that students will choose a course that matches both their academic results and future job market prospects,” he said.