Cover image via cikguhailmi
All matriculation graduates at the Education Ministry's matriculation colleges will receive certificates so that they can apply for jobs, Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid announced yesterday, 7 June
**It was reported that these certificates will allow the matriculation graduates to apply for positions in the civil service and private sectors beginning this year.**
Mahdzir stated that this notion was done to acknowledge the achievements of matriculation graduates who have excelled through the ministry's matriculation programmes, introduced in 1999.
He added the ministry would issue the certificates to matriculation graduates from 2016 onwards.
"This decision will allow the students to apply for work if they do not want to further their studies," Mahdzir was quoted as saying by New Straits Times Online.
The Padang Terap MP also said that the Education Ministry is going to present the matter to the Public Service Department (PSD) soon to discuss the recognition of the certificate.
It was [reported](http://www.thesundaily.my/news/1828035) that the 15 matriculation colleges in the country have produced 300,000 graduates so far.
Discussions with the Public Service Department (PSD) had been ongoing since 2010, said the ministry's deputy director of the Matriculation Division, Dr Baiduriah Yaakub
The Matriculation programme is a pre-university programme offered by government colleges
According to education website [Afterschool.my](http://afterschool.my/course-description/government-matriculation-2/), 90% of Matriculation slots are allocated to *bumiputera* students, and 10% to non-*bumiputera*.
Matriculation programmes can be categorised into two curriculums namely *Program Satu Tahun* (PST) (One-Year Programme) and *Program Dua Tahun* (PDT) (Two-Year Programme).
As the names of the programme suggest, the only difference between the two courses is the duration of the programme although the subjects taken remain the same.
Malaysians who are aiming to enrol in local public universities will usually apply for Matriculation programmes because it is easier and costs nothing.
Image via cikguhailmi
