PUBLIC universities are prepared for further funding cuts next year as government money is tied up with resuscitating an economy battered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The academic staff unions of Malaysia’s top five public universities (Ipta) are hopeful that unlike their private counterparts, these institutions won’t be seeing pay cuts or layoffs.

This is since almost all of the academic and non-academic staff in the nation’s (22) Ipta are considered civil servants employed under the Public Service Department.  

But the reduction in government grants, which make up about half of an Ipta’s income, will mean less money for the research programmes these institutions specialise in.

The coronavirus outbreak has exposed the structural flaws of the country’s higher education sector but despite the pain inflicted on many, it could be an opportunity to fix those problems, said Prof Dr Omar Shawkataly, formerly of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).

The main problem in the sector – and a reason why it produces substandard graduates – is that there are too many schools for a shrinking university-going population, said Omar.

“The commercialisation of tertiary education has meant that schools are more interested in making money than providing quality education and upholding standards,” said Omar, an ex-vice-president of the USM academic staff union.

This has led to a mushrooming of private colleges and universities and Ipta at a rate which outstrips the marginal increase of youth who wish to pursue tertiary education, he said.

“The small state of Malacca houses three campuses of the same public university. What’s the point of having so many? There’s not enough critical mass of students among these campuses for them to function properly.”

In the Covid-19 era where student intakes are expected to fall, there will be even fiercer competition between Ipta and IPTS for this small population, said Omar.

“The whole system, Ipta and IPTS, will have to be restructured in order to move forward.  

“The universities and colleges must go through what our banks did 10 years ago. They must merge so that there are a few big giants that can offer quality education to a shrinking student population.”  

Freedom over money

Universiti Malaya academic staff union president Aznijar Ahmad Yazid said the trend of reduced government funds for Ipta began several years ago at the suggestion of the vice-chancellors.

“They had the bright idea of trading university autonomy with public funding, whereas the two should not be tied together,” said Aznijar, a lecturer in UM’s mechanical engineering department.  

“It is the government’s duty as per a Unesco convention Malaysia signed that it should fully fund tertiary education. You can fully fund a public university and allow academic freedom (at the same time).”  

Dr Doria Abdullah of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) said the budget cuts started in 2007, where grants for the Ipta covered only 70% of their expenditure.

The Iptas would then have to generate their own income to cover the remaining 30% of their operating costs, Doria wrote in a paper.

The cuts were particularly drastic in 2017, as Ipta received a total allocation of RM6.12 billion, a 19.23% drop from the RM7.57 billion they received in 2016, wrote Doria of UTM’s School of  Professional and Continuing Education.  

UM for instance, has seen a steady reduction in government grants despite it occupying the highest global ranking among Malaysia’s Iptas and IPTS.

In 2015, UM received RM692 million in grants and this declined to RM539 million in 2016 and RM485 million in 2017.  

“In the Covid-19 era, there are concerns about the reduction of students and funding,” said UM’s Aznijar.

Lay-offs and pay cuts may be the last thing that Ipta have to endure but the staff have to be prepared to operate under the new normal which emphasises remote and online learning, he said.

Current USM academic staff union president Assoc Prof Sundramoorthy Pathmanathan said the university is already expecting a cut in research funding from the private sector this year.

“This will likely impact funding for life sciences, biology, chemistry and pharmaceuticals projects,” said Sundramoorthy, a criminologist in USM’s School of Social Sciences.

Although the foreign intake may decline due to worldwide travel restrictions, he does not anticipate the same of local students.

“Local students I spoke to are very eager to return. They say nothing beats learning in a face-to-face environment.” – July 20, 2020.