1.3.3 : Low-income student support
UTM Hardship fund
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) maintains a strong institutional commitment to student welfare, recognizing that financial precarity should not be a barrier to academic completion. Our comprehensive suite of financial and welfare aids is strategically deployed to support students from low-income families, enabling them to focus on their studies.
Central to this effort is the UTM Hardship Fund, an emergency mechanism designed to mitigate unexpected financial shocks. This Fund provides essential emergency payments to meet costs related to illness not fully covered by insurance. To ensure targeted and timely assistance, the illness incident must have occurred in the current semester and within Malaysia. Eligibility is strictly for active UTM students who have completed at least one semester, and the funds are distributed as a single payment, explicitly excluding tuition fees.
This emergency support is augmented by a range of documented welfare programs that address core living expenses, directly aligning with the need to support low-income student families. The Because We Care Chancellor's Fund (BWCCF), for instance, provides food vouchers worth a minimum of RM200.00 per student per semester to cover daily meals at campus cafeterias, tackling food insecurity directly. Furthermore, programs like the Charity Corner and the Caring Cabinet offer free dry food, beverages, and snacks to all students, extending the safety net. For eligible Muslim students, UTM Zakat Aid is available to cover tuition fees, living expenses (RM300–RM600), and even bus fare assistance (RM50–RM150 one-off).
By providing focused financial grants for emergency health situations, and continuous support for food and living costs, UTM creates an equitable environment, demonstrating a sustained, transparent, and multi-layered commitment to ensuring every student can successfully complete their university journey.
Source :
https://sps.utm.my/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/APPLICATION-FORM-HARDSHIP-FUND.pdf
TEMU BUAL CALON PROGRAM PEMBANGUNAN SISWA SULUNG (SULUNG) 3.0
In its commitment to providing support for low-income students and enabling them to complete their university education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), through its Student Affairs Division (HEP), has consistently run the "Bantuan Back to Campus" (Back to Campus Aid) program. This initiative directly addresses the critical financial burden of transportation and essential living supplies that students from low-income families face at the start of each semester.
The program's objective is to remove logistical and financial barriers to returning to campus, a key point of vulnerability for students who must travel from distant homes. By providing targeted assistance, such as round-trip bus ticket assistance for those in need and pocket money during the journey, the university ensures that all students, regardless of their financial background, can arrive on time and prepared for their studies. For students traveling from East Malaysia (Sabah, Sarawak, & Labuan), where costs are significantly higher, the support extends to round-trip flight ticket assistance of up to RM1,000 per student.
Furthermore, the spirit of this program is part of a wider UTM strategy, which includes other aids like the "Food Bank Siswa" initiative to provide free food for B40 students, directly tackling food insecurity and complementing the travel and financial relief. By focusing on these essential and immediate needs—travel, food, and necessary resources—UTM’s "Back to Campus Aid" acts as a vital mechanism, translating the institution’s policy of equity into tangible support that preserves the low-income students’ ability to successfully register and remain enrolled, thereby improving access and completion rates for vulnerable populations.
Source :
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=heputm&set=a.975160884653887
