Disclaimer: In Real Life is a platform for everyday people to share their experiences and voices. All articles are personal stories and do not necessarily echo In Real Life’s sentiments.
In Malaysia, the standard education experience is going straight to university/college after secondary school without a break. A few may take a gap year and work for some experience (and money), but the majority of students go from school to school without breaks.
However, over the years, many have expressed their doubts as to university being a good choice for a stable career.
Here are the 6 reasons why some Malaysians believe that universities are a scam:
1. Extremely high tuition fees
This applies doubly if you’re trying to complete an external degree (a degree from a non-local institution, such as a university from the UK or Australia), because currency exchange rates might affect your tuition fees.
Either way, parents often save up to help their children pay for uni fees, or take out a loan.
Although PTPTN exists to help students afford these fees, some have expressed regret at landing themselves into debt even before beginning their career.
Michael told me that he wished he didn’t bother going to uni as he is still paying off his PTPTN loans. He also thinks that the degree isn’t necessary for the industry he works in. He has had to dedicate most of his savings towards paying off the loan as he has trouble finding a job right now during the pandemic.
2. Incompetent educators
I have heard stories from those who had educators that made being a student under them a miserable experience.
Natalia told me about a lecturer who was not only bad at her job, but also made snide and condescending remarks towards students. It was one of the reasons she dropped out of her programme.
Personally, I have also experienced the incompetence of some of our local lecturers. A friend and I had to do a graded presentation together. While we were researching the topic and reading studies, we realised that our lecturer had taught us wrongly.
Since the lecturer had a habit of reading off the slides I wasn’t too surprised, but my much younger friend was shocked. Especially since the lecture was a really strict marker.
This was an external UK degree so I described it as Malaysian quality educating, but UK quality marking.
3. Impractical courses within the programme
Tanya griped about having to study animation for her mass com degree. “I understand learning about film production and radio broadcasting because they make sense, but why animation?”
The lecturer said that it was so that when the students entered the workforce, if the boss asked them to create an animation, they could do it instead of saying they didn’t know how.
“It still doesn’t make sense, though. Why would a boss ask me to create animations instead of a qualified animator?”
She believed that animation was included to bulk up the programme, because it made so little sense that anybody who studied mass communications would be entrusted with animating content.
It could also be because job applications nowadays want to hire people with as many skills as possible so that one person can do more than one job (such as companies wanting to hire graphic designers who can also do video editing – two separate and unrelated skills).
That’s a dodgy practise on its own too though.
4. Certification inflation
As more and more people are looking into white collar jobs and getting degrees, the benefit a degree confers has decreased. This is part of certification inflation, something that happens when the value of a degree not only decreases, but the minimum qualification for a job increases.
Previously, jobs that didn’t require a degree now do, and those that required a degree now request applicants with a Master’s degree instead. This phenomenon of certification inflation has created a lot of stressful upskilling on the part of employees to keep up with the job market, even though the certification might not matter for the industry they’re in.
Arjun noted that “those without degrees get pushed down even lower” by this situation.
5. Low minimum wage
Our national minimum wage was set at RM1,200 last year (2020). Although it was a good move to implement a minimum wage to protect workers’ rights, the amount is not enough to sustain a thriving lifestyle.
There has been a major outcry on social media, where discussions on the minimum wage suggest that the minimum wage should be above the poverty wage line, which in 2020 was measured to be RM2,208.
The minimum wage should make it so that one job is enough for a person, regardless of whether the person has a degree or not. People should not have to work a second (or even third!) job just to live.
The problem is that prices of things have increased, but salaries have not risen proportionally. People go on to pursue a degree, hoping to evade the issue, but a low minimum wage means that a degree isn’t a guarantee that you’ll have a better life.
6. Strain on mental and physical health
Despite what our parents think about studying, it’s actually quite strenuous! Although it’s tiring and stressful even if you’re neurotypical, it’s even more so if you have mental health problems.
It really doesn’t help that most of our local unis and colleges don’t have accommodations for mental health issues.
When I was studying in Australia, I was given accommodations for my ADHD such as being able to take my exams in a small quiet room and being given extra time to complete assignments and exams.
Over here though? I was informed by a college admin that my issues wouldn’t be recognised unless I was given an official OKU card by the government even though I had documentation from my psychiatrist ready.
But even for those who are neurotypical, the constant late nights and pulling all-nighters definitely takes its toll. By the end of the semester, everyone looks dead and zombie-fied.
For a lot of people whose industries don’t actually require degrees, pursuing one was a way of getting ahead – but the advantage no longer exists.
Many have expressed the feeling that although universities used to be legitimate, in today’s rat race, universities are just taking advantage of the job market to sell accreditation.
There are degrees for everything now, even traditional Chinese medicine!
You also see advertisements for uni courses while trying to watch YouTube videos or on huge billboards while driving around. Some unis also offer perks like a free tablet when you sign up for a course with them.
In today’s capitalistic society, universities are just another business that wants your money.
For more stories like this, read: Ex-Students at Limkokwing Uni Reveal the Truth about Their Revoked Degrees, Why Two Students Quit Uni to Start A Business for Secondhand Clothes, and I Spent 80K On My Business Degree Only To Become A Freelance Model.
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