THE government is advised to offer educational subsidies to wealthy students based on merit or academic performance, rather than solely on their financial status.

Utusan Malaysia reported Muslim Teachers Association (iGuru) president Mohd Azizee Hassan as saying that the government’s intention to end education subsidies should be seen positively, but at the same time the quality of education should not be jeopardised.

The plan should be comprehensive and advantageous for selected schools, such as Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM) and Full Boarding Schools (SBP), that have exceptional students.

“However, the government can consider giving aid to students in the top 20% income group (T20) based on merit or academic performance and not just based on financial status alone, and continue to maintain the full subsidy for the bottom 40% income group (B40).

“The government’s priority at the moment is to increase access to education and upgrade digital and physical infrastructure to bridge the gap in education and address the issue of poor schools throughout the country,” he told the Malay daily.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim previously said the government is planning to reassess education subsidies allocated to the super rich and will prioritising the poor and marginalised communities during the upcoming Budget 2025 tabling.

Meanwhile, the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary general Fouzi Singon advocates for transparent and fair subsidy evaluation mechanisms to ensure eligibility.

This is particularly for high-income groups.

“The measure of subsidy eligibility based on per capita income should also be reviewed to ensure that only those who are truly entitled to receive assistance.

“The government has a social responsibility to reduce the burden of education subsidies without affecting any party.

“With a large number of students (five million), teaching staff (430,000) and many schools (10,253), the education sector needs high allocations,” he said. — TMR