Mara to relax conditions for entry of poor students to MRSM

The conditions for entry to Mara Junior Science College (MRSM) for poor students in urban and rural areas, Sabah and Sarawak will be relaxed while Persons with Disabilities, Orang Asli, orphans and the hardcore poor, will be given special access.

Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the matter would be discussed by Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) next year.

"3A3B has been proposed as minimum qualiification for poor students from rural and urban areas and 3A2B1C for poor students in Sabah and Sarawak. We will seek public feedback," he told told reporters after launching the Back To School 2017 programme of Mara Eduction Foundation, here today.

At the event, Ismail Sabri distributed school bags to representatives from state UMNO Youth and Puteri UMNO.

Asked about the proposal to establish private MRSM, Ismail Sabri said it would be considered, including whether the operation would involve new MRSM or the existing facilities.

The UMNO Supreme Council member stressed the proposal to establish private MRSM was made following high demand for them from parents, especially those who can afford to pay. --BERNAMA