COMMENT The litany of reasons given by the government for not recognising the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) through the years gets more and more bizarre. They used to say that the UEC’s curriculum was not up to the mark.

The latest reason is the answer given by the Deputy Education Minister P Kamalanathan in the Dewan Rakyat who said that the cabinet in a meeting on Nov 6 last year had decided not to recognise the certificate:

"For now, the government can’t recognise UEC as it is not based on the national curriculum and education philosophy. This is a reality that needs to be accepted as it relates with the nation's interest and sovereignty."