Budget 2022: lukewarm allocation for higher education ‘concerning’

KUALA LUMPUR – Despite the education sector getting the lion’s share of Budget 2022 with more than RM67 billion allocated, the reception has been lukewarm towards the government’s allocation of RM14.5 billion for higher education.

Malaysia University of Science and Technology professor Geoffrey Williams said that many will be disappointed with the allocation for higher education. 

“It shows that higher education isn’t a priority again, with an allocation of RM14.5 billion for 2022, compared with RM 14.4 billion for 2021.

“The increase for higher education is only 0.7% compared with 2021. This is not enough to even cover the rise in prices, with the country’s inflation at 2.2%.

“It is not enough to cover structural issues, improve quality or provide better pay and conditions to faculty and staff. It remains very much behind our international peers,” he said.

Williams also raised concerns on the government’s allocation of RM450 million for 600,000 tablets for university students.

“It looks like a gimmick. Each tablet costs RM750. So what sort of quality of tablet will students receive?

“Will it be provided as a voucher so students get to choose or will some government-linked supplier get a big supply deal?”

Again, the bigger disappointment is the lack of allocation for private higher education institutions (PHEIs), which have been hit hard by multiple lockdowns, he said.

“In a post-pandemic era, as many as 20% of PHEIs may close down, as smaller private colleges survive on tight margins of profit,” said Williams, who has spent the last 20 years in the education sector, both public and private.

Williams also highlighted PHEIs’ investment in online teaching, which has now reverted to on-campus teaching.

“Online teaching went on during the lockdown and, in some cases, is still ongoing for many PHEIs, but, unfortunately, numbers have fallen badly as students are facing financial issues and parents lose their jobs.

“The other aspect overlooked by the government is the overall drop in foreign students who churned in revenue, but no provision has been made to revitalise the sector and encourage foreign students to return to Malaysia,” he said.

Echoing Williams’ view is National Association of Private Educational Institutions president Associate Professor Elajsolan Mohan, who said that nothing has been allocated in Budget 2022 for PHEIs, which have taken a severe blow financially during the lockdowns.

“It is a fact that smaller private colleges have closed down and some sort of grant to help them out financially during this period would have been appreciated. 

“It would have allowed these private colleges to be financially sustainable. It would also have given them some time to recover from the effects of the lockdowns.

“PHEIs churn in billions in terms of foreign exchange and money spent by foreign students, contributing to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), with 70% of the foreign students are enrolled in PHEIs,” he said.

The expectation in a post-pandemic era, according to Elajsolan, is for both public and private universities to be given allocations to tide over the economic fallout from the pandemic.

The fact remains that more than 50% of post-secondary education is supported by PHEIs, saving the government billions of ringgit and though, PHEIs are profit-orientated, they have been hit hard by the pandemic.

“Also, the recognition of the existence of PHEIs and their contribution to the economy and talent development is not evident in Budget 2022,” added Elajsolan.

Parent Action Group for Education founder Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim also expressed her disappointment in Budget 2022’s failure to allocate funding for the private higher education sector.

“It cannot be denied that the private higher education sector plays a crucial and important role in providing an intelligent and competent workforce.

“We cannot afford to allow this sector to wallow during and after the pandemic,” said Azimah, describing the sector as a catalyst to attract international students and provide a respectable income stream for the government. – The Vibes, November 1, 2021