MUET: As seen through the eyes of an undergraduate Law student

I am writing this in my capacity as a student and on behalf of my fellow course mates on the issue concerning the increasing of minimum band on the Malaysian University English Test (MUET) especially for undergraduate Law programme.

This nugget of news caused an uproar of sorts on social media (Twitter and Facebook) after the presentation of the Budget 2015 which was tabled by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at the Dewan Rakyat on Oct 10.

Najib proposed that changes should be made on the requirements for IPTA law programme admission which includes obtaining Band 4 and Band 5 to graduate.

I may be critical in certain aspects but I must first admit the importance of proficiency in English in the law field and also the objective to have a higher quality of local law graduates is commendable however in practice Bahasa Malaysia is more preferable in trials according Section 8 of the National Language Act

1963/67.

That is why a better understanding of the programme itself should be addressed.

And, how so?

A series of meeting within the Legal Qualifying Board or through the discussions with students, whether or not such changes should be enforced or should other alternatives like sitting for IELTS for example to be made compulsory before Law undergraduates can graduate.

Those preliminary steps shall be taken.

Firstly, the admission into UiTM law programme requires a minimum Band 4 which is considered above average and to expect the undergraduates especially those in their third year and final year to retake the test before their graduation is, to put it simply, redundant.

Crybabies, I hear you say? No, but when the problem concerns the future of Malaysian students -- especially changes of Law programme within the university, it is a tad too much to handle, if it is applied, retrospectively.

There's also a new policy which was enforced last semester stating that to be eligible for Law programme one has to obtain a minimum Band 4 for MUET, CGPA of 3.00 and undergo an interview.

The objective? To look for the creme de la cream among law students for LLB programme.

I believe this is sufficient to steer towards achieving the objective.

Of course, it's easier said than done to achieve Band 5 for MUET but out out of 100 students -- there will only be 1 or 2 obtaining Band 5 (upon their first attempt of MUET) every semester.

How much do students have to fork out money to pay? How many times do students have to retake before they can finally graduate?

How can students resit for MUET when our own schedules are already stifled with classes schedules? With all due credit to the powers-that-be, this will inevitably create another foreseeable and unforeseeable issue in the future.

Furthermore, English has been the main language both in learning and teaching of the law programme in the country.

It is also crucial to note that English isn't our mother tongue and not all students come from the English-speaking background and to put such high requirement for them will put another pressure.

Even the law subjects itself, the core is to understand the legal knowledge and no merely focus on the language aspect.

Some may have planned their future from the get-go; some might have other goals after they graduated.

A pertinent question comes to mind, what if they cannot graduate on time?

What if they cannot graduate at all? Would not it be waste of time of the required four years to complete the programme (Law)?

If you ask, it's a bit ambitious because to achieve Band 5 is almost perfect (highest is Band 6).

There is a lot of improvement to be made before we are ready to take on such enforcement in our tertiary educational system.

Personally, I do not think MUET is the best alternative in testing the proficiency of our local undergraduates because there are too many loopholes especially in the marking system. It's not standardised and differ according to region but I stand it to be corrected.

Education is something that needs development and the quality on the local graduates cannot be only tested on papers but also their skills and abilities to execute to do work is still lacking.

Lastly, I hope to those who are concerned that a proper plan will take effect before the new requirements are implemented because all we want to see is the long-term effect and not otherwise.

One suggestion would be changes to to be enforced for the new batch of students because a proper study on their progress can be conducted.

A law would not become a good law if it is unenforceable and bring burdensome to people.

Christhoper Enteri ak Mawan is a Law student of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM)