Discount cards will not resolve student poverty, says economist

 

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said present financial constraints prevent the government from offering free tertiary education to poorer Malaysian students.

PETALING JAYA: Reintroducing discount cards for poor college and university students is not a long-term solution to student poverty, says an economist.

Geoffrey Williams of the Malaysia University of Science and Technology said the introduction of discount cards would not resolve structural issues behind student poverty.

These structural issues include expenses like school fees, accommodation and food, the students’ inability to work while studying, scarce and low-waged job opportunities, as well as compulsory, often unpaid, internships.

Williams said that without first addressing these structural issues, discount cards would likely only benefit the vendors and suppliers involved, including suppliers of the cards and finance companies.

On Saturday, domestic trade and cost of living minister Salahuddin Ayub said the government is considering the reintroduction of a discount card for students of higher education institutions to reduce their burden.

Williams said the government should look instead at addressing the costs of tertiary education directly, by helping to reduce fees or making it free altogether, as advocated by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Earlier this month, Anwar said he believed tertiary education should be free for all Malaysians except the rich, but noted that the government could not implement it yet due to financial constraints.

“There are perfectly viable schemes to lower the costs of higher education and the government is starting this process, for example with flexible study arrangements for public universities.

“This should be extended to private universities too, by changing the regulations to allow them to create cheaper study options,” he said.

Syed Zuliqbal Syed Abd Halim, operations director of student welfare NGO Persatuan Kasih Mahasiswa (KASISWA), welcomed the initiative, saying more focus on financial constraints afflicting students was needed.

“However, one concern of mine is redundancy. We already have the Kad Prihatin Siswa (KPS), how many cards do we need? It’s better if the current government can focus on what we already have and expand it,” he told FMT.

KPS is a National Student Consultative Council (MPPK) initiative that provides students with an e-wallet application that also gives cardholders special offers. - FMT