September is back to school season and do you know who are the most excited? Scholars. Holistic students with full ride scholarships to study overseas.
There are 2 main types of scholarships for tertiary education provided by a number of corporations and government bodies in Malaysia: Need-based and merit-based. Need-based scholarships (NBS) are targeted for students from low-income families which means their total household income should be under a certain amount to qualify. On the other hand, merit-based scholarships (MBS) don’t consider your financial background. Both types evaluate candidates in many aspects such as academic excellence, performance in extra curriculars, interpersonal skills, personality, etc.
Many Malaysians have raised issues surrounding MBS. Most of these complaints don’t have substantial evidence because they are either 1) hearsay or 2) first-hand experience of past scholars, but it is common knowledge nonetheless.
Even a former minister of education can agree:
Some of the popular issues I’ve noticed are:
- MBS providers offer financial aid for the ultra-rich that could easily afford to study overseas without a scholarship. Someone reported that an ‘anak datuk’ was among his batch of scholars. The places of rich scholars could have been taken by less wealthy groups, providing more chances for those who can’t afford it.
- The rich can somehow get into scholarship programs through ‘cables,’ allowing them to skip the standard elimination process others had to go through. Not impossible as they can pull the right strings among their vast connections of influential people.
Point number one may sound unethical, but it’s actually not…. wrong. That’s why MBS is so problematic. The rich are merely jumping on an opportunity that could save them a ton of money. Would you buy a house for RM 10X when another house at RM X was made accessible for you?
Point number two is downright cruel. People with no integrity. I have nothing more to say about that.
Let’s talk about affordability. Contrary to popular belief, not all T20 can afford to send their kids to study overseas. A luxury car and a nice house? Yes. Sending all their children for 4 years of study in the UK? That’s crazy. When I say “rich” I meant those people who can actually afford foreign school + living cost without compromising other financial commitments.
But most of us tend to generalize T20 wealth. I promise you a RM11k household income can’t afford it without scholarship yet they are usually the ones demonized as “selfish” by the masses because they are perceived as “rich” in a way that’s untrue. My genuine question is, how well do we know about rich scholars’ wealth before accusing their selfishness? Are they a RM11k or a RM50k? What are their other financial commitments?
As long as MBS continues to exist, this discourse will never end. N E V E R. I did think of suggestions on a whim on how we could overcome this problem but caveat: I don’t have the means to form research-and-data-backed solutions to correct a national systematic flaw, but here they are:
Solutions:
- No more MBS.
- No more scholarships for overseas studies. Only NBS for local public universities.
- The excess funds intended for international MBS is used to nurture the education for low-income families.
Reasons:
- No more discourse. Foster peace and harmony among Malaysians.
- Supports local institutions; improves infrastructure and lowers tuition fees.
- More students get access to education, bridge poverty-education gap
Some possible risks:
- Higher percentage of fresh grads to employability ratio.
- Reduced Malaysian representation in foreign countries.
- At the mercy of local university quality education…but isn’t that what it mostly was?
Furthermore, here’s a PSA that blaming “undeserving” people for seeking MBS won’t change anything. The scholarship PROVIDERS should be the ones held accountable and take proactive measures if we want to see actual change.
Anyone under MaPa who wish to study overseas are welcomed of course. Go chase your dreams baby.
The Soya Bean 