THE Higher Education Ministry (Mohe) has described Budget 2018 tabled by Prime Minister Najib Razak on Friday as an “upwards soaring” budget, after it received a 13.15% increase in funding for next year.

In a statement yesterday, Mohe said the increase from RM12.28 billion to RM13.89 billion reflected the government’s concern for the development of higher education in the country, which progress was visible in the local universities’ improved QS World University Rankings.

“The Mohe is grateful for the scholarship provision of RM900 million through the MyBrain15 programme which will benefit 10,600 undergraduates and doctoral students, as well as the  implementation of in-house Master’s and PhD courses to ensure lifelong learning among officers in public service.

“The allocation for research, development and commercialisation (RDC) that will drive the country’s economy towards Industrial Revolution 4.0 is almost doubled to RM400 million from RM235 million in 2017,” the statement said.

It said Mohe continued to be committed to increasing the Indian student intake in public higher education institutions to 7% and welcomed the RM2.4 billion allocation for Universiti Teknologi Mara to increase the number of Bumiputera professionals.

“With the government’s support through this ‘Soaring Upwards’ budget, Mohe is committed to improving  the quality of higher education in achieving the 2050 National Transformation aspirations.”

Meanwhile in Sintok, Deputy Higher Education Minister Dr Mary Yap Kain Ching said the 2018 budget bode well for the development of higher education in Malaysia.

She said the RM400 million allocation would help boost excellence of higher education Institutions in Malaysia especially in fields of RDC.

“This clearly shows that the government is always supportive of the national research ecosystems,” she said at the Universiti Utara Malaysia English Language Carnival. – Bernama, October 29, 2017.