UIA students tighten belts to scrape by

Undergraduates at the Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA) Malaysia say they suffer the economic strain but unlike 75 percent of their counterparts in a recent survey , they still have enough to spend on food.

The students, however, shared with Malaysiakini that they employ multiple strategies in order to scrape by every month.

Their situation is better than many of those polled by the Muslim Volunteer Malaysia Association (MVMA).

The survey results, released two days ago, was shocking - three quarters admitted to being in situations where there isn’t enough even for basic sustenance.

UIA was one of the public universities included in the poll, which involved 25,632 students from six public universities.

The students pointed out that the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN), which a lot of them rely on, is enough to cover fees and living costs.

While the undergrads try to be prudent, they still have to ask for money from parents to make up for the shortfall.

Final-year engineering student Muhd Shaifuddin Suharsono said from the RM3,500 he received per semester, he is left with RM2,130 after the deduction of RM920 for tuition and RM450 for the hostel.

It averages to RM532.50 per month in a four-month semester...