The PLKN was touted as a programme, among other things, to promote national unity and integration. Whatever good the youths who have participated in the PLKN recently may have obtained is going to be dissipated soon when they continue with the next stage of their journey in education and life. For a large number of these trainees who have just completed their PLKN training, reality will hit them when they find themselves streamed into matriculation and Form 6 classes for the next stage of their formal education or pre-university education.
Those who join the matriculation classes, [90% bumiputras and 10% non-bumiputras] will find themselves doing a one year course, take internal matriculation school tests, are graded on their course work and accumulate points throughout the one year from tutorials and quizzes by their internal testers. The next year, they get a shot at being selected for entry into universities to do their tertiary education.
Those who are not admitted to matriculation classes, [?90% non-bumiputras and ?10% bumiputras] will have to join the 6th Form for their pre-university education. This takes 18 months or two years if you like. At the end of that period, they take the STPM examination. This examination consists of 4 or for the more adventurous 5 subjects which are taken over a period of days at one go. The exam papers are standardised for all STPM candidates and their papers are marked by external examiners. By the time they get to be selected for university entry, their fellow PLKN comrades who went through matriculation, would have completed their 1st year in university and getting ready to start year two!
Would the sense of enhanced unity and integration gained during the three months spent together while undergoing the PLKN still be there or gone up in smoke? No money for making the correct guess. Post-PLKN training and while going through their pre-university education wouldn't keeping them in one single stream, whether matriculation or 6th Form or even better just call it pre-university allow for the youth to continue and further the interaction, bonding and integration started in their PLKN days.
Now the MINIstry of Education is hoping that the Vision Integrated Camping Programme would further promote unity among students prior to their PLKN days. Apparently this Camping Programme has been around since 1986. The programme this year would involve 61 schools nationwide [damn small number indeed] and would involve students from national schools, national-type Tamil primary schools and national-type Chinese primary schools at state and national levels. Already the Deputy Education MINIster has also indicated that the camping programme would serve as an orientation prequel to the PLKN for the students. Now wouldn't following up the PLKN with the suggested uniform pre-university classes be a sequel to further promotion of student unity and interactions. Best wishes to the MINIstry as far as its hopes and aspirations of further unity are concerned.