Don: Assess benefits of MyBrain15 first
KUALA LUMPUR: The government has been urged to adopt a fair and pragmatic approach over the suspension of the MyBrain15 scholarship programme, and review its successes and achievements before making a decision.
Professor Datuk Dr Abdul Rashid Mohamed, who is Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) foundation studies research unit coordinator, said three factors, namely healthcare, security and education, should be given priority by the government.
He said the suspension of any programme related to the three factors should be done professionally and based on research.
“If we can save in other areas, fine and well. But matters that relate to healthcare, security and education have to be given priority as they are the cornerstone of the people.
“As such, the decision to suspend the MyBrain15 scholarship programme should be backed by a study to assess its success rate in elevating the standards of education and its recipients’ socio-economic status.
“Scholarship programmes have two impacts, which are direct and indirect, to the government and MyBrain15 recipients. Thus, any decision to press on or postpone must be based on more solid reason- ing.”
Rashid was asked to comment on the government’s decision to postpone the MyBrain15 programme, which was created in 2008 to provide scholarships and produce more PhD graduates.
Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik, in a talk show recently, had said the programme had to be suspended due to the large government debt and the country’s financial situation.
In response, Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman tweeted on Friday that the decision to suspend the programme should be reviewed, as it represented the government’s investment in the youth.
The 2018 Budget had allocated RM90 million for the MyBrain15 programme to enable 10,600 recipients to further their studies and obtain a PhD.