Institutions of Higher Learning plays a crucial role in producing an educated and knowledgeable society

When tabling the 2005 Budget in Parliament on 10 September 2004, the Prime Minister Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced that the focus of Budget 2005 was to enhance the effectiveness of Government financial management, the delivery system and competitiveness, accelerate the shift towards a higher valued-added economy, develop human capital, and improve the quality of life of the rakyat.

The 2005 Budget has set aside huge sums of almost a quarter of the total operating allocation for various portfolios with RM16.3 billion going to the Education Ministry and RM5.2 billion for the Ministry of Higher Learning to produce a knowledgeable community and raise Malaysia’s education system to world standard.

Quick to act on it, the Ministry of Higher Learning has announced it will carry out more management and development projects for education in 2005 under wellstructured strategies that will see further improvements to the higher education institutions in the country.

A double session programme will be implemented in polytechnics, industrial training institutes, community colleges and Mara skills institutes, creating an additional 30,000 places for secondary school leavers over the next three years. RM190 million has been allocated for this purpose.

Teachers’ contribution and the teaching profession got a specific mention for the first time in the 2005 Budget

Another RM670 million has been allocated for the building of new institutions and RM248 million to upgrade existing facilities.

The number of Mara scholars will be increased from 700 to 1,000 annually, providing opportunities for more top scorers to pursue their studies overseas.

Players in the private education industry have numerous reasons to cheer as Budget 2005 has addressed many longstanding issues.

Private institutions of higher learning (IPTS) can look forward to quicker approvals and accreditation of courses, while the proposed ranking of IPTS and public institutions will finally see the light of day.

Dato Seri Abdullah said IPTS would also be encouraged to form smart partnerships and merge to create strong and leading educational entities at par with renowned universities in developed countries.

"To support this initiative, the government proposes exemption of stamp duty and real property gains tax be given to IPTS that merge. To expedite the mergers, these tax exemptions will be given up to 2006," he said.

Education Minister Datuk Hishammuddin Tun Hussein was quoted as saying that "...[the budget] is unprecedented. I am very happy because for the first time there is specific mention of the profession and the contribution of teachers and the role of education. But this recognition and acknowledgement of teachers come with an expectation, especially now that they can be promoted to Jawatan Utama Sektor Awam C."

The New Straits Times in its editorial of 13 September 2004 says that "...However, like previous budgets, the allocation for education in Budget 2005 still seems to be skewed in favour of tertiary education. Compared to OECD countries, we spend more per tertiary student than per primary pupil. Yet our public universities are nowhere near world-class by any measure. While the introduction of a ranking system could make them more competitive and drive them to achieve excellence, this does not address the issue of the comparative under-investment in primary education, and the more crucial foundation years of early childhood education. Since the basic literacy skills are most effectively developed early in life, the Government should consider allocating greater resources to primary schools and kindergartens..."