KUALA LUMPUR — Local students are being forced to give up on plans to study in the US and UK due to the spike in costs caused by the ringgit’s sharp devaluation, according to placement centres here.
Prior to the plunge in the value of the Malaysian currency, both countries had been the preferred destinations for local students continuing their tertiary education abroad, but continuing to do so now meant paying an average of RM70,000 (S$23,961) more for a course in US.
In the UK, the average rise was even more prohibitive, according to one placement centre, which cited a spike of RM90,000 for a complete four-year course last year versus 2014 before the ringgit started its decline.
“This does not include the average monthly cost of living where students would need at least US$1,500 in the US or the same amount in British pounds to study in the UK.
“Imagine paying RM4,800 then and RM6,300 a month now to a student in the US… that is a RM18,000 difference a year (for living expenses alone),” the centre told the Malay Mail Online on condition of anonymity.
According to the placement centre, the depreciating ringgit has caused around 250 students to amend their plans to either continue their education locally or seek out more affordable destinations.
Another student placement centre, JM Education Counselling Centre (JMECC), said more students were now considering Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland as alternatives to the US and UK.
“In 2015, about 60 per cent of the students who came to our centre chose Australia over other countries.
“The reason for this is mainly due to the weak ringgit,” JMECC acting assistant marketing manager Erwin Tan told Malay Mail Online.
While the ringgit has depreciated against most major world currencies, the rate of decline was not universal. Although the ringgit’s fall was primarily triggered by the fall in crude oil price — Malaysia is a net oil exporter — it was also fuelled by a crash in other commodities.
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