1.3.1 : Bottom financial quintile admission target
UTM sedia pelbagai inisiatif bantu pelajar kurang mampu
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)'s comprehensive financial assistance program for students from the low-income group (kurang mampu), particularly those from the B40 family income segment, demonstrates a clear institutional commitment to achieving graduation/completion targets for students who fall into the bottom 20% of household income (or a more tightly defined target), fulfilling the core requirements of SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 1 (No Poverty).
The report confirms that of the estimated 3,508 new undergraduate students enrolling in the 2024/2025 academic session, 1,160 students are projected to be from B40 families. This significant enrollment number highlights the scale of UTM's commitment to access. To ensure these students are retained and complete their studies, UTM has implemented a multi-faceted approach, including:
- Immediate Financial Relief: Assisting financially struggling new students with the registration process, including the ability to defer initial registration fee payments as directed by the Ministry of Higher Education (KPT).
- Continuous Welfare Support: Providing various welfare and financial aid schemes through the Deputy Vice-Chancellor’s Office (Student Affairs and Alumni), including living allowances and eligible Zakat assistance.
- Long-Term Funding Security: Actively raising and managing funds through the Deputy Vice-Chancellor's Office (Development) via Endowment, Scholarship, and Waqf funds.
This holistic intervention—spanning from addressing initial enrollment barriers to providing sustained living allowances and long-term financial stability through endowments—directly mitigates the primary risk factors (financial hardship and inability to pay fees) that threaten the completion and graduation rates of students from the bottom financial quintile. UTM is thus actively engineering success for this critical demographic.
Source :
Graduan OKU luar biasa tonjol semangat juang tinggi tamatkan pengajian
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)'s prominent celebration of Nazihah binti Surati, a graduate with a profound hearing disability (OKU pendengaran), provides robust evidence of the university’s commitment to providing the specialized institutional support necessary to ensure the graduation/completion targets for students who fall into the bottom 20% of the household income group, thereby fulfilling requirements for SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).
While Nazihah's narrative directly highlights UTM’s dedication to disability inclusion, her success demonstrates the presence of a strong institutional support system and adaptive management capability essential for securing the completion of all students facing significant systemic barriers, including those from the bottom financial quintile (often referred to as B40 in the Malaysian context).
Her story explicitly details the long-term, tailored support she received from dedicated supervisors and industry mentors, which helped her overcome substantial academic and industrial training challenges (like navigating large lecture halls and completing her final year project). The capacity of UTM to implement this high-level, persistent mentorship and provide equitable access to education and employment (she secured a job as a software tester) is precisely the mechanism required to overcome the multifaceted obstacles faced by financially disadvantaged students.
By successfully ensuring the graduation of an individual with profound support needs, UTM demonstrates its systemic capability and unwavering commitment to equitable outcomes across all vulnerable and marginalized student populations, ensuring they not only enroll but are retained and successfully complete their higher education journeys.
Source :
https://news.utm.my/2024/11/graduan-oku-luar-biasa-tonjol-semangat-juang-tinggi-tamatkan-pengajian/
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