MALAYSIAN PARENTS SPEND RM110,000 ON EACH CHILD’S EDUCATION

Malaysian parents top the list on educating children up to varsity level

KUALA LUMPUR

MALAYSIAN parents spend an average of RM109,470 (US$25,479) on their child’s education from primary school up to university undergraduate level, according to “Higher and higher”, HSBC’s new report in its The Value of Education series.

Of the over 8,400 parents in 15 countries and territories surveyed, parents in Hong Kong who spent RM567,394 (US$132,161) on their child were ranked number one globally. This was followed by the United Arab Emirates with RM426,650 (US$99,378) and Singapore RM304,568 (US$70,939).

The expenditure contributes towards all aspects of their child’s education costs, including school/university tuition fees, educational books, transport and accommodation.

In Malaysia, the majority of parents (97 per cent) contribute towards the cost of their child’s primary school education, with 93 per cent also contributing towards their university or college education, said the study.

The figures are lower globally, however, with 89 per cent of parents contributing towards the cost of their child’s primary school education and 85 per cent for university or college education.

“On the courses they would like their child to study at university, Malaysian parents were quite ambitious. Medicine (16 per cent), engineering (14 per cent) and business, management and finance (12 per cent) were the most preferred. This sentiment by parents is shared globally too, with medicine being the most preferred course at 13 per cent,” the study said.

It also said that parents in Malaysia were also very optimistic about their children fulfilling their potential. About 82 per cent of parents in Malaysia were confident that their child would have a bright future, a sentiment equally shared by India (87 per cent and China (84 per cent).

Australia was the most popular choice for Malaysian parents to send their children for overseas university education, at 67 per cent, followed by the United Kingdom (38 per cent) and United States (24 per cent).

Globally, the US was the most popular choice for countries such as Taiwan (70 per cent), China (61 per cent) and Canada (61 per cent) to send their children for overseas university education.

It also revealed that many parents, when considering university education abroad for their child, had specific criteria in mind when selecting a university — the quality of teaching on offer (67 per cent), the courses offered (61 per cent), and the prestige associated with the university (55 per cent).

“However, 31 per cent of parents do not know how much it would cost for their child to study abroad”.