GOMBAK, Sept 9 — About 4,000 Selangor-born university students have benefited from state government aid that covers nearly half of their tertiary education tuition to ease their financial burdens, Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari said.
He added that the aid is provided to students of Universiti Islam Selangor (UIS), Universiti Selangor (UNISEL), and the Selangor Technical Development Centre (STDC).
“In Selangor, we provide aid to help cover the cost of education, with the state government sponsoring nearly 50 per cent of their study costs. There are 4,000 recipients.
“The response has also been very good. We have a batch of recipients, and we will evaluate the programme soon and determine how we want to continue it moving forward, depending on its implementation at universities and STDC,” he told reporters today after the symbolic handover of the Selangor Nutrition (NutriSel) programme at SK Gombak Setia and SMK Gombak Setia here today.
Meanwhile, Amirudin said students’ struggle with rising living costs requires multipartisan cooperation and cannot be addressed with tuition aid alone.
He said zakat institutions also play a role in easing students’ financial difficulties by appointing amil (zakat collectors) at higher learning institutions, with part of the collections to be channelled to students in need.
“Living costs ultimately require the cooperation of all parties. Zakat centres also help by appointing universities as amil.
“Part of the collection can be used as wakalah for students in need. This has already been implemented at UIS and UNISEL, where it has been of great help.”
Yesterday, media reports quoted Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Mohamed as saying some students from underserved families are forced to ration their food.
He said the situation shows education assistance should not focus solely on tuition, but also students’ basic needs on campus.
In May, the Selangor government announced a 50 per cent subsidy on tuition for Selangor-born students at UIS, UNISEL and STDC, involving almost RM20 million in financing.
Other than Selangor, Sarawak is the only other state to sponsor tertiary education for students, covering their study costs in full.
