MUET bar raised to improve graduates

Source: New Straits Times
28 October 2014 @ 8:14 AM

SAMARAHAN: THE government has raised the qualifying band for the Malaysian University English Test (MUET) to address the decline in English proficiency.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the decision to raise the bar was made following input from industry players, including multinational corporations (MNCs).

Muhyiddin, who is also education minister, said the introduction of higher MUET requirements would ensure that universities produced skilled graduates with a good command of the language.

More than 300 graduates came for the interviews, but only seven were employed. Most of them failed because they could not converse and write properly in English. This is one of the many cases relating to the poor command of English among graduates,” he said to a question by engineering student Abdul Rahman A Rahman, who wanted to know the reasons behind the introduction of higher MUET requirements.

For instance, a university can enrol students with a Band 1 MUET score, but it must ensure that the students graduate in a higher band. We are doing this for the betterment of the country and our students. This is a big issue. It is not a problem at the tertiary level, but also in primary and secondary schools.”

When announcing the 2015 Budget, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had said beginning next year, the student intake in public universities would require at least a Band 1 in MUET.

Earlier, Muhyiddin called on all local universities to intensify efforts to produce skilled and quality human capital. He also congratulated Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud over his appointment as Unimas chancellor.

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