As usual, raging and disappointing complaints are being made to the press when many students who scored stellar results in the SPM examination are not able to secure the much- coveted JPA overseas scholarship.

According to official statistics released by the Education Ministry in March, the number of students who managed to score straight A1s in the SPM 2008 examination increased to 1,676, compared to 892 in 2007.

So let us now take a look at the number of overseas scholarships being provided by the Public Service Department (JPA). Based on the statistics released by JPA, there were 8,363 candidates short-listed for interviews out of the 15,084 applicants.

With a simple mathematical logic, we can actually calculate that the chance of securing a scholarship is about 25%.

I am quite sure that this question is on everyone's mind - are the students getting more intelligent by the years, or has the standard of the exam declined?

Furthermore, we can see that this year, for the 2000 PILN (Program Ijazah Luar Negara) scholarships, some portions have been allocated for the IPTA or IPTS. This is news to many of us because as far as we know, scholarships for the IPTA are allocated under the 10,000 seats of the PIDN (Program Ijazah Dalam Negara).

This has created a huge confusion among the public. Besides that, there are two different decisions being made for the criterion of selection for this scholarship. Both parties, the JPA and the cabinet keep to their own words. This has made things even worse.

Which criterion is being used to determine the deserving ones? As usual, transparency is always lacking in the selection process. We, the public, will never know how many percentages of the scholarships are given out based on meritocracy.

For the co-curriculum assessments, I can say that due to the demographic factor, not all schools are having the same opportunities offer some activities and competitions.

Plus, as a former secondary student, I have seen that the involvement in co-curriculum is no more solely on interest but only to gain a position as high as possible in a club or a society as a president of a club or society is awarded a higher mark compared to a mere committee member.

This will give them a more competitive edge when we comes to scholarship applications. So, it has turned into a rat race, similar to taking up more subjects in the SPM exam.

On the other hand, family income can only be a reference, not a determining factor. A filthy rich student with better academic results should be given the scholarship rather than a weaker student from a rural area?

This is pretty controversial, owing to the complexity of education environments we are having in our nation.

However, we must not forget, that the JPA is not a charity body, nor a volunteer monetary organisation. After all, when we come to university applications, the competition is extremely intense. The main aim of giving out the scholarships is not to help the poor, but rather to help the nation.

We, the taxpayers, need to see that the money is channeled for better usage and repayment. The talents we nurture should be able to contribute to boost national economic growth and to increase our competitiveness in today's challenging world.

I suggest that the JPA officers should spare some time to do a detailed research on how many excellent students have been ‘outsourced' to other countries, namely Singapore, China, Taiwan,

Japan, Australia, UK, and US.

The ‘brain drain' has been occurring for many years, and as far as I am concerned, it's not that the students want to turn their backs on their beloved country, but the government that they had much faith in, turned them away when they need help the most.

Plus, it's also possible to abolish this PILN programme and instead set up a new scholarship programme whereby students who have gained admissions into top universities in the world, are given top priority.

In one way, it can help the government to save money from sponsoring students for their pre-U studies. In another way, this will ensure that the best students are being sponsored.

We can also refer to the CN Yang Scholars Programme set up by Singapore's NTU (Nanyang Technological University) by creating a ‘Special Talent Programme'. This is an exceptional scheme for students who have the abilities in certain fields, like science, maths, arts and the humanities or even social science.

Not all geniuses are good at scoring As. We should not neglect the future Einstein, Michelangelo, Rousseau or Shakespeare, just because he or she may not have a string of As.

Congratulations to those who have secured the JPA scholarships. For those who were not selected, move on with your lives. Remember, calm seas never made strong sailor.