'RM50 million allocation for public universities timely'

 

The allocations provided under the 2021 Budget will enable public universities to upgrade their infrastructure. - NSTP file pic

KUALA LUMPUR: The allocations provided under the 2021 Budget would enable public universities to upgrade their infrastructure.

Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Professor Dr Taufiq Yap Yun Hin said the RM50 million allocation for public universities was timely in order to keep up with the changing times.

"Due to rapid technological advancement, we constantly need to upgrade our science laboratories and equipment to be on par with other leading universities.

"So, the budget is certainly good news for us," he told the New Straits Times today.

Dr Taufiq also lauded the RM400 million allocation for research and development, and hoped that public universities could greatly benefit from it.

"The RM400 million must be used wisely to address both our current need to defeat the Covid-19 pandemic and also our long-term goal to develop our fundamental sciences.

"Therefore, while keeping Covid-19 in focus, the funds should be channeled not only for health sciences, but also to other non-health aspects affected by the pandemic, such as tourism, education, retail activities and others."

He said the reintroduction of tax incentives for non-resource research and development (R&D) revenue for both public and private higher learning institutions was timely.

"This will motivate researchers from both sectors to intensify their commercialisation activities.

"While they focus on generating revenues, these activities can also spur the growth of our own home-grown innovation and technologies," he said.

Malaysian Association of Private Colleges and Universities (Mapcu) president Datuk Dr Parmjit Singh however wished the budget had some provisions for private colleges.

"The budget disappointingly revealed very few positives for us," he said, adding this follows the prolonged closure of campuses that did not allow new international students to enter the country.

"As such, we cannot help but feel disappointed. We had hoped for a broader range of incentives and other forms of assistance that would help the industry directly to recover from the devastating economic effects of the pandemic, similar to those accorded to other sectors such as tourism.

"As it stands, the industry faces a very uncertain future as the effects of the pandemic threaten to extend well into the following year and beyond."

Dr Parmjit said private higher learning institutions served the needs of more than 50 per cent of Malaysian students.

"It is disheartening to see that we are ignored and unaided year after year," he said.

He however said that the extension of tax incentives to Private Higher Education Institutions specifically for Commercialisation of R&D would help to spur greater involvement in such activities among Private Institutions.

"In addition, some private Institutions have the opportunity to benefit by offering upskilling/certification programmes to fresh graduates under the KPT-PACE programme.

"The upgrading of access to MyREN would also encourage greater online collaboration between institutions, researchers and students across the higher education community," he said. - NST