Materia Medica Malaysiana

200 medical students left in the lurch

OVER 200 students pursuing medical degrees overseas are now left in the lurch, as the universities they had enrolled in are not recognised by the Malaysian Government, Tamil Nesan reported.

Quoting MIC vice-president Datuk S. Veerasingam, the paper said students who returned to Malaysia with these unrecognised certificates face numerous problems when applying to practise medicine in the country.

Indian students were among those studying medicine abroad due to the shortage of places in local public universities, he said, advising those concerned to check with the Education Ministry on the suitability of their courses.

Veerasingam, who was speaking at a Puteri MIC gathering in Tapah, Perak said students applying for overseas courses could consult the MIC.

On a related matter, the daily reported that Education Minister Datuk Hishammuddin Tun Hussein would launch a three-day seminar for Tamil schoolteachers tomorrow.

Quoting MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, the paper said the seminar would be held at Universiti Malaya.

Malaysia Nanban reported on the places for non-bumiputra students at the Mara Junior Science Colleges.

It quoted Mara director-general Datuk Jamani Mohd Nor as saying that only 70% of the 400 places allocated for non-bumiputra students in these colleges had been taken up.