In a statement, the higher education ministry said the Cabinet agreement involves the entry of students from tahfiz schools, private schools and Chinese independent secondary schools into public universities.

Candidates from these streams who also possess a full Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) qualification may apply for any programme through the UPUOnline system.

This is subject to the general and specific programme requirements set by universities through a merit-based selection process.

Candidates who do not have a full SPM certificate but sit for Bahasa Melayu and History subjects conducted by the Malaysian Examination Board may be considered for certain programmes at public universities.

These programmes have been identified based on the suitability of the field of study and current needs.

For candidates from tahfiz institutions, the identified programmes are: diploma and bachelor’s degree in dakwah; diploma and bachelor’s degree in Al-Quran and As-Sunnah; bachelor’s degree in tahfiz education; and bachelor’s degree in Islamic studies (dakwah).

For Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) graduates, the identified programmes are: bachelor of arts in Chinese language studies with honours; bachelor’s degree in Chinese language and linguistics; bachelor of arts in Chinese studies; and bachelor’s degree in Chinese language with education.

“All applications will be processed based on the principles of meritocracy, academic qualification requirements and subject to the regulations and decisions of the university senate,” the ministry said.

It added that the approach is part of efforts to make access to higher education more inclusive without compromising academic standards and the quality of the national higher education system.