KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 1 — Local students are being forced to give up on plans to study in the US and UK due to the spike in costs caused by the ringgit’s sharp devaluation, according to placement centres here.
Prior to the plunge in the value of the Malaysian currency, both countries had been the preferred destinations for local students continuing their tertiary education abroad, but continuing to do so now meant paying an average of RM70,000 more for a course in US.
In the UK, the average rise was even more prohibitive, according on one placement centre, which cited a spike of RM90,000 for a complete four-year course last year versus 2014 before the ringgit started its decline.This does not include the average monthly cost of living where students would need at least US$1,500 in the US or the same amount in British pounds to study in the UK.
“Imagine paying RM4,800 then and RM6,300 a month now to a student in the US… that is a RM18,000 difference a year (for living expenses alone),” the centre told the Malay Mail Online on condition of anonymity.
According to the placement centre, the depreciating ringgit has caused around 250 students to amend their plans to either continue their education locally or seek out more affordable destinations.
Another student placement centre, JM Education Counselling Cenntre (JMECC), said more students were now considering Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland as alternatives to the US and UK.
“In 2015, about 60 per cent of the students who came to our centre chose Australia over other countries.
“The reason for this is mainly due to the weak ringgit,” JMECC acting assistant marketing manager Erwin Tan told Malay Mail Online.
While the ringgit has depreciated against most major world currencies, the rate of decline was not universal. Although the ringgit’s fall was primarily triggered by the fall in crude oil price — Malaysia is a net oil exporter — it was also fuelled by a crash in other commodities.
The fall in commodities prices also weakened the currencies of other economies that are dependent on these exports, such as Australia and Indonesia, mitigating and even nullifying the ringgit’s fall against such countries’ currencies.
At the start of 2014, the ringgit had traded around 2.90 to the Australian dollar and now, two years later, it is around the 3.00 mark.
Also two years ago, the ringgit hovered near 3.28 to the US dollar and 5.38 to the sterling pound.“Then, it was fairly affordable but not today when the British pound and US dollar to ringgit hover around RM6 and RM4.30 respectively,” Tan said.
Taylor’s University deputy dean of school of Liberal Arts and Science Associate Professor Dr Anindita Dasgupta said interest it its American Degree Programme (ADP) has remained steady despite the depreciation of ringgit against the US dollar.
“Taylor’s ADP provides students with an affordable option of completing the first two years in Malaysia, which considerably brings down the overall costs of a 4-year degree in the US.
“The final two years, which are crucial as the students start taking higherlevel as well as Major courses, are then spent in an American University, which is where they derive enormous academic exposure,” she said.
She explained that Taylor’s 2+2 twinning programme helped mitigate the increase brought about by the fall of the ringgit, while still allowing students to enjoy the full benefits of a US education.THE MALAY MAIL ONLINE
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