Subsidies on students' accommodation among suggestions in Budget 2023
04 Oct 2022 11:18am
Government should prepare a development budget for building of residential facilities to accommodate the students’ housing needs. - Photo: Sinar Archive
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Former assistant treasurer of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Student Union, Aidi Zuhaili Zuhaimi said the government should prepare a development budget for building of residential facilities in and outside the campus of public universities to accommodate the students’ housing needs.
He said the government should also enhance the Rumah Sewa Siswa initiative, which is a portal that serves as a platform to facilitate students in their search for rented accommodation within the vicinity of their respective campuses.
"For example, for a university in Gombak, maybe the government can provide subsidies to rent accommodation in areas close to the university. If the rental is RM800, maybe after subsidy it will be RM400, and then name it as rented accommodation for students,” he told Bernama.
He said with the expected challenging circular economy next year, which might directly affect the cost of living, students should be exposed to pre-emptive defence mechanisms to prepare them for inflation and be equipped with knowledge on building independent income and financial literacy.
Sharing a similar view, Malaysian Young Graduates Association (GRADUAN) secretary Kong Cheng Ann said that students, especially in the urban areas, were having difficulties paying for rent because of spiralling accommodation expenses, forcing them to be in financial straits.
"There is inadequate accommodation in most universities. Students have to find their own accommodation outside the campus. Hence, they need to be in the free market and if the demand is high, the cost they need to pay for the rental is high too,” he said.
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) Students Representative Council vice-president Chai Jun Xian, said other than students’ accommodation, the rising price of in-campus food also required a long-term solution.
"If there are funds provided for the universities to take part in agriculture and food supply industry, they can reduce their cost on food supply. Hence the price of the food in the campus can be lowered,” he said.
Chai said in Budget 2023, he hopes the government can include students from middle-income groups (M40) in their initiatives, as previously, most initiatives focused on helping just the B40 students.
Meanwhile, Advocacy Executive Officer of Institute for Research and Development of Policy (IRDP) Sharmanshah Shahren said the government should provide more research learning platforms, apart from university syllabus, to inculcate the research culture and expose students to more research experience
"Most university students know how to do research, the problem is they do not see a clear path after they have completed a particular research.
"The government should help students to advocate their research by providing a mechanism to provide seed funding to any relevant research undertaken by students.
He said the government should establish a research body, which could be placed under the Education Ministry, to prepare, educate, and train students about research, as well as the path to advocate their research, after it is done. - BERNAMA
