Following the table of Budget 2016 in Parliament yesterday, early analyses describe it as “defensive,” and an attempt to mask austerity measures with populist handouts.
Behind the veneer of marginal increments in BR1M payments, better pensions, a revised minimum wage and a widened list of zero-rated items under the GST regime, next year’s budget actually sees many cuts in key sectors such as education, skills development, industry development, public transport, welfare and youth affairs.
One of the areas that has suffered a substantial “haircut” is education, in particular the Ministry of Higher Education, which has seen its budget slashed by RM2.4 billion, from RM15.78 billion in 2015 to RM13.37 billion for 2016. More significantly, funding for public universities have been severely cut, as illustrated in the table below.
| University | 2015 | 2016 | Change |
| RM | RM | % | |
| 8,753,564,300 | 7,311,337,500 | -16.48 | |
| Universiti Malaya (UM) | 638,115,900 | 463,905,000 | -27.30 |
| Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) | 487,693,300 | 512,327,900 | 5.05 |
| Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) | 654,208,400 | 542,093,000 | -17.14 |
| Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) | 495,830,100 | 439,279,000 | -11.41 |
| Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) | 497,947,100 | 415,644,000 | -16.53 |
| Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) | 301,811,800 | 243,522,000 | -19.31 |
| Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIAM) | 548,515,300 | 504,020,000 | -8.11 |
| Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) | 197,874,100 | 195,787,000 | -1.05 |
| Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) | 379,902,200 | 315,961,000 | -16.83 |
| Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) | 194,171,900 | 153,827,000 | -20.78 |
| Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) | 2,618,244,300 | 1,997,171,900 | -23.72 |
| Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) | 170,971,100 | 148,027,500 | -13.42 |
| Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) | 173,856,800 | 142,557,900 | -18.00 |
| Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) | 257,463,200 | 247,905,000 | -3.71 |
| Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) | 186,371,700 | 142,091,000 | -23.76 |
| Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) | 227,973,200 | 203,395,600 | -10.78 |
| Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) | 220,406,700 | 212,389,000 | -3.64 |
| Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) | 252,228,200 | 224,020,000 | -11.18 |
| Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK) | 138,607,400 | 114,183,500 | -17.62 |
| Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) | 111,371,600 | 93,230,200 | -16.29 |
Table: Funding changes in public universities (2015-2016)
The breakdown of the allocation shows that except for UKM, 19 out of 20 public universities will face cuts in their 2016 budgets. Shockingly, UM, Malaysia’s premier university, is set to be the biggest loser as its funding will be slashed by a massive 27.3 per cent or RM175 million. Three other universities, namely UPSI, UiTM and UMT, will also suffer major cuts of more than 20 per cent.
Meanwhile, the budgets of 11 universities (USM, UPM, UTM, UUM, UMS, UniSZA, USIM, UteM, UMP, UMK and UPMN) are set to be reduced by between 10 and 20 per cent. The remaining four universities (UIA, UNIMAS, UTHM and UniMAP) will lose up to 10 per cent of their budget.
In total, public universities will experience budget cuts of RM1.4 billion or 16.48 per cent compared to 2015, despite the fact that university enrolment is projected to increase next year. This would mean that expenditure per student would be reduced dramatically.
Last year, Minister of Higher Education Dato’ Seri Idris Jusoh boasted that our universities are on track to becoming “world-class,” while making the grand claim that some of our institutions of higher learning are on par with the likes of Oxford University.
While I do not agree with the minister’s lofty assertions, I do share his aspirations to make our varsities world-class. However, in order for much-needed improvements to take place, I am sure more and not less investment is required to boost the quality of the academic faculty and develop better research programmes and grants, as well as to upgrade infrastructure and student facilities.
Unfortunately, it is disappointing that Budget 2016 will see massive cuts affecting almost all public universities. With the top universities having their budgets slashed by up to 27 per cent, how will the ambition of having world-class universities materialise?