FACULTY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

JANUARY 2018

EBES 2103

ENGINEERING SCIENCE

MATRICULATION NO : 840831135419001
IDENTITY CARD NO. : 840831-13-5419
TELEPHONE NO. : 019-7489875
E-MAIL : mhar281108@gmail.com
LEARNING CENTRE : SARAWAK LEARNING CENTER

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 ESSAY OUTLINE

Education Inequality Between Urban and Rural School In Terms of Opportunity to Further
Studies

Introduction
There is a gap between urban and rural schools in many areas, including opportunities to further
studies. Students of urban schools have higher chances to further their studies due to having more
access to opportunities, such as grants and scholarships. There are also several other factors, and they
need to be addressed in such a way that will allow higher chances for students of rural schools to
further their studies.

1. Gaps between urban and rural school

A. Lack of internet access
i. Caused by the lack of infrastructures and amenities such as electricity and
telecommunication tower.
ii. Causes rural areas to not have access to information on
a) Scholarships and grants
b) Which institution they can apply to enter and continue their studies
iii. Applications and appeals to enter universities and other institutions are all done
online.
B. Lack exposure to promotional works
i. Remote location of rural schools prevents more effort to promote higher education
to be done.
ii. Rural students have no means to attend and participate in education fairs or to make
study tours to institutions.
C. Low motivation to further studies
i. General living conditions in rural places low emphasis on the value of high education
ii. Lack of knowledge on available grants and scholarships places mental burden on
parents in terms of financial capability to send children for higher education
iii. Rural students have less people to refer to when it comes to furthering their studies

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2. Suggestions to help
A. Provide internet services
i. By developing better infrastructures for rural communities and school
ii. Will allow better information access for students
B. Develop better road access
i. Enables travel between urban and rural areas
ii. Allow institutes and bodies to make roadshow and seminar at school to promote
higher learning at their institution
C. Increase motivation and general awareness amongst rural communities to further studies
i. Invite people for motivational talks
ii. Ongoing exposure to the benefits of higher education amongst rural communities

Conclusion
Gap between urban and rural school is getting wider as rural areas fall behind in terms of
infrastructures and social development. To ensure better future for rural communities, these
gaps need to be addressed so that higher education level amongst rural communities can be
achieved.

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 Education Inequality Between Urban and Rural School In Terms of Opportunity to Further
Studies

Education is an important factor that ensures positive growth in a nation. Better education
system results in quality human resource that can contribute towards the development of the
country. In Malaysia, education is achieved mainly through schools for lower educations, and
universities, colleges, and institutes for higher learning. Due to the establishment of schools
throughout the country, Malaysians can have good learning opportunities of lower education
levels. However, it can be seen that such opportunities is not equally available when it comes to
higher education. It is observed that students of urban schools have higher probability to enter
higher education compared to students of rural schools. This can be attributed to several factors,
such as low information access in terms of internet services, poor road access, and low motivation
to further studies amongst rural communities.
In this age of information technology, internet services have been instrumental in allowing
information sharing and administrative work to be done remotely. However, such privilege is
denied to rural schools and community as they did not have enough infrastructures such as
communication towers and computer labs. Some places are so isolated that they did not basic
amenities such as electric and water supply. As such, rural school and community have no access
to information that can help student to further their studies, for example scholarships and grants.
Promotional works and application to enter universities and similar higher learning institutions are
also largely done online. Such problems are not faced by urban school students as they are
surrounded by technology and internet access has been a large part of their life. This results in
rural students to fall back, and even completely miss out when it comes to opportunities to further
their studies if compared to urban students. This can be seen from the amount of rural students
that applied and successfully obtained scholarships and grants.
The second factor that affects the opportunity of rural students to further their study is the
lack of good road access. Infrastructure such as asphalt roads and bridges are lacking when it
comes to rural areas. This prevents road access to said areas, and makes it hard to travel to rural
schools and communities. As a result, promotional works for higher education such as roadshows
by universities and other institutions cannot be done at those schools. Physical means for
communications such as letters and newspaper which are alternative for effective information
sharing is also affected, as they will reach rural areas late, and sometimes do not reach them at all.
(Example letter cannot be sent). Conversely, students of rural schools also do not have any means
to attend any education fair that is usually held in cities and towns, due to the same reason.
(Example of road condition, not suitable for convoys). This directly affects the students’ prospects

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 to enter higher education as they are denied information such as which universities and institutes
they can attend, and any financial aid or scholarships they can apply for.
The third factor that causes education inequality between urban and rural schools is the low
general awareness amongst rural communities regarding the importance of higher education. This
can be attributed to their lifestyle, in which higher education does not constitute a great part of
their daily life. For example, (refer to their livelihood). In such situation, to ensure their livelihood,
parents will prefer their children to continue their legacy and work the fields instead of furthering
their studies. In addition, their lack of access to information on scholarships and grants that they
apply for causes them to think higher education as unaffordable. Apart from that, low general
awareness towards the importance of higher education can also be attributed to their lack of
examples from their immediate surroundings. In urban environment, children furthering their
studies are the norm, and many success stories can be derived from a great number of people to
be used as examples. These can serve both as motivations and reference for students in school to
further their studies at universities and higher learning institutions. Such cases are low in rural
communities, which indirectly affect motivation and general awareness regarding higher
educations.
In order to increase rural student’s opportunity to further their studies, several suggestions
can be taken into account. The first one is to ensure good internet access for usage at rural schools.
This can be achieved by developing infrastructures such as telecommunication towers and
computer labs, as well as ensuring the supply of electricity to the school. By having good internet
access, students can easily access crucial information that increases their chances of furthering
their studies. They can learn about what grants and scholarships they can apply for, as well as
which institutions and programs they are interested in. The government has done several
initiatives to provide internet access to rural schools through (satellite internet), but as technology
has become more indispensable for daily life, proper development of telecommunication for rural
areas has become inevitable.
The second suggestion that can be taken into consideration is to develop proper road
access. By providing better road access, transport to and from rural schools will no longer be a
problem. Outsiders can reach rural areas easily, which will allow roadshows and other promotional
activities for higher education learning to be done at rural schools. Conversely, rural school’s
students can also travel outside easier, which allow them to attend any higher education fairs that
are held in cities and towns. In addition, their schools can organize study tours that will serve as a
guide and motivation for them to further their studies. By developing proper road access, we will
be able to bridge the gap between urban and rural schools as well as between the communities.

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 The third suggestion that can be taken into account is to improve general understanding of
rural communities on the importance of higher education. This can be done through exposures
from motivational talks and seminars. Highlighting the importance of higher education, particularly
in allowing one to change the financial situation of a family, will greatly motivate students to
further their studies, as well as change the perception of parents about higher education of it being
a financial burden to a great investment. A better example can also be shown by inviting graduates
that comes from the same background and situation as rural students, which will serve both as a
great motivation for them to achieve the same accomplishment as well as a great reference for the
students to pave their way towards higher education learning.
As a conclusion, the gap between urban and rural students when it comes to opportunities
to further their studies is still happening and is becoming even more prevalent as rural areas are
being left behind more from day to day in terms of technology and infrastructures development.
Steps should be taken to ensure equal opportunities for students regardless of background to
further their studies and develop themselves as a person so that they can become quality citizens
that will contribute to the country and ensure a brighter future not only for themselves but also for
future generations.

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