KUALA LUMPUR: While the government’s proposal to introduce an educational sponsorship programme for students from poor families may not be easy to put into place due to the financial implications, it is a workable solution as it has successfully been carried out in countries like Germany, France and Finland, say experts.
The models in these nations, they say, can be used as references by Malaysia.
“Any spending on education must be seen as a long-term, profitable investment.
“It’s difficult to produce a knowledgeable and skilled generation if no proper allocation is made (for their higher education),” Assoc Prof Dr Che Hasniza Che Noh told Bernama.
Investing in education, she added, should be made a part of the government’s main agenda as it would yield significant returns to the nation’s development in the long run.
The senior lecturer at the Centre for Foundation and Continuing Education, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, said to ensure that such an agenda met its target, the government would need to look at various aspects, including determining the types of “profit” it could potentially reap from such an investment.
“Those selected must prove that they have achieved the basic requirements. For example, they must achieve the required cumulative grade point average (CGPA) in the first semester of their studies.
“The government should only sponsor students pursuing programmes that have high marketability.
“This is because if the sponsored students are not able to get jobs (after completing their studies), then the investments will seem unfruitful,” she said, adding that this would also ensure the nation’s ability to produce human capital to meet industry needs.
Earlier this year, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said that he hoped to introduce a programme to sponsor the tertiary studies of first-generation students from poor families.
Describing the programme as a measure to end poverty through knowledge and skills, he said the matter would be presented to the Cabinet for approval.
The government, added Assoc Prof Che Hasniza, must also not hesitate to withdraw the sponsorship of students who fail to attain the required CGPA.
According to a study carried out by the Statistics Department in 2019, 390,000 or 72.1%, of Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia school leavers did not want to continue their studies.
The study, which involved 560,000 SPM students, found that only 170,000 chose to continue their education, while the rest wanted to enter the labour market.
Experts said this issue should not be overlooked as Malaysia risked facing a shortage of professionals in another 10 years should many students continue to choose to forgo tertiary education in the near term.
