KUALA LUMPUR: Private education institutions hope the 2021 Budget will enable them to regain their footing following the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic that has plunged the sector into financial stress.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Engagement) of UOW Malaysia KDU, Associate Professor Dr Brian Imrie said the pandemic had forced some colleges to close their doors for good.
"Many parents are reluctant to enrol their children in private higher learning institutions due to what they perceived as an economic downturn.
"I hope the government could consider increasing the amount of National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loans to ensure that students can still afford private higher education.
"Alternatively, the government can provide a guarantee for student loans from banks for them to pursue private higher education, on a condition that the banks could offer reasonable interest rates," he told the New Straits Times yesterday.
Imrie said the pandemic signalled a "pivotal point" for the direction of private higher education.
"The government should seize this opportunity to consolidate the sector and in doing so, it will further enhance the capacity and quality of private colleges and universities."
He also urged the government to provide equal support for students in the public and private sectors when rolling out subsidies for Internet access to facilitate online learning.
"Besides that, the government should also roll out incentives for capital expenditures related to online infrastructure, such as e-subscriptions, to ensure that we deliver the best online learning experience for students."
Meanwhile, UCSI University Academic Division director Khalid Abdullah Abu Bakar proposed the government to consider giving tax reduction for private education institutions.
"We also hope the government would provide subsidies for the private education sector. This is because we produce graduates with high employability for the country's workforce," he said.
UCSI Group corporate communications executive Nazirul Razman called on the government to allocate research funds for the private higher education institutions to keep abreast with current developments in various industries around the world.
"We are moving towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0) and we must ramp up our research and development sectors," he said.
Parent Action Group for Education president Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim hoped the 2021 Budget would allocate more funds for programmes to improve English proficiency in schools, especially the Dual Language Programme (DLP) and Highly Immersive Programme.
"These two programmes started in 2016 with a budget allocation of RM38.5 million and RM90 million in 2017.
"However, efforts to scale up the DLP programme seems to have taken a back seat since then, although the programme has proven to be successful.
"The Education Ministry's statistics show that between 18 per cent and 95 per cent of students in over 1,200 primary and secondary DLP schools have improved their grades in the subjects in 2017," she said.
While acknowledging the importance to improve digital learning experience for students amid the pandemic, Noor Azimah also called the government to help schools organise physical classes with reduced number of students.