Medical Education Fees and Dilemma of Students

The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) sympathizes with students pursuing medical degrees at the private institutions of higher learning (IPTS) who are finding it difficult to make ends meet.

The National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) can go on increasing the loan amount but this is not going to solve the problem. The government should have a control over the fee structure in the present nine private medical colleges in Malaysia, which ranges from RM200,000 to RM310,000.

The MMA is surprised these private colleges are charging exorbitant fees when the college are making use of the facilities in all the government hospitals and employing many government specialists as part-time lecturers as well as paying them a small allowance. The eight government medical colleges' fees are only RM15,000 to RM20,000 for the entire course.

The Ministry of Higher Education, the Ministry of Health and the MMA should meet and set a ceiling of this ever-increasing fee in the private medical institutions. The fees depends on whether it is a 5-year course in Malaysia or twinning programme in places like U.K. and Ireland. Malaysian students intending to pursue medical education overseas should seek admission into the recognized colleges with a low fee structure and not dream of going to U.K., Australia, Czechoslovakia and Poland whereby the fee ranges from RM450,000 to RM700,000.

DATO' DR KHOO KAH LIN
PRESIDENT (2007/2009)
MALAYSIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION

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