Friday 29 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on March 20, 2023 - March 26, 2023

Malaysia is going through very difficult times owing to rising inflation, which means higher food prices and living expenditure. Surveys have shown that students have been skipping meals, working part-time and taking on more debt to deal with the growing cost of living. For most of the affected students, rising food prices are putting a strain on their well-being.

Rising prices are a significant issue, especially for students from lower-income households. While those who are most badly hit are skipping meals, many others are coping by choosing less nutritious foods, eating smaller quantities and depending on instant noodles, bread and other low-cost items like cream crackers to satisfy their hunger.

Furthermore, half of the students surveyed reported facing financial issues and are worried that rising living costs will have an impact on their academic performance. Some are concerned about the upcoming semester and having to balance tuition and living expenditure.

Students claim that money worries affect their mental health, as well as their ability to focus, care for their health and attain good grades. As a result, they have resorted to reducing their living costs drastically.”

Moreover, because their student loans are insufficient to pay for their living expenses, some of the students have to adopt a very frugal lifestyle and work part-time. They are concerned that they do not have enough money to meet their needs, and that their loans frequently do not cover even the most basic of their expenses. When their student loans are inadequate to pay for their expenditure, students take on part-time employment to stay afloat, although the majority are concerned that this will affect their studies. Almost all students who work have to take on long working hours to meet their financial needs, and as a result do not have the time to focus on their studies.

Students claim that money worries affect their mental health, as well as their ability to focus, care for their health and attain good grades. As a result, they have resorted to reducing their living costs drastically. Food insecurity may have a significant impact on a student’s life and capacity to learn. Those who are food insecure are much more prone to feelings of despair, loneliness and anxiety compared to students who have consistent access to enough food. They also have lower self-esteem and grade point averages, and are more likely to drop out before finishing their degrees.

The students who live in hostels can save on their accommodation fees. But when students live off campus, they need to spend more money than students staying in hostels as the rent and utility bills are much higher. Because not every institution can provide hostels for students, they may choose to live in a rented house. Students are upset by the increase in utility prices as it is a source of additional stress. In order to save money, they must periodically go without eating or eat only once a day.

To combat these problems, the government can take some steps such as providing scholarships, increasing the amount of student loans, providing free tuition and controlling the cost of living. Limiting tuition charges might be a solution to the problem of higher academic fees.


Kirubasheni Saravanan is a final year student in the Faculty of Business and Communication, Universiti Malaysia Perlis

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