TEMERLOH: Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) will offer 100,000 places for bumiputera students taking critical courses during the 2010/2011 university session.

Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said UiTM would be offering some 200,000 places in total, double the 100,000 places presently.

“With this, more bumiputera students can take critical courses like medicine, engineering and law,” he said after launching the Temerloh branch of Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia Association (Perkasa) here yesterday. Saifuddin said the additional students would be absorbed by existing UiTM campuses nationwide.

On the meritocracy system, he said the intake of bumiputera students to public universities declined when it was first implemented in 2003.

“We will study the statistics for this year. The system will be continued if there is an increase but will be reviewed if it is otherwise,” he said.

Pahang Perkasa president Dr Zubir Harun said the meritocracy system had led to a decline in the number of bumiputera students taking critical courses. — Bernama