PUTRAJAYA: A total of 71,290 holders of the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) and equivalent qualifications have been offered places at public universities through the UPUOnline system this year.

The Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) announced today that this number represents 77 per cent of the total 105,424 applications received through the system.

It said 1,114 undergraduate programmes are available for this application period.

"Admissions to these institutions are determined based on meritocracy, with candidates ranked according to their merit scores from highest to lowest," it said in a statement.

The ministry also advised that candidates who did not receive an offer can submit an appeal through UPUOnline within 10 days, from noon today until 5 pm on Sept 15.

"The ministry congratulates all successful candidates and hopes they will fully utilise the opportunity to advance their education at the higher education level," the statement added.

-- BERNAMA