The National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) is exploring measures to improve loan repayment rates among university students. One proposal under consideration is to withhold funding for courses at institutions where loan repayment rates fall below 30%.
According to the New Straits Times, PTPTN’s Chief Executive Officer, Ahmad Dasuki Abdul Majid, shared this during a webinar hosted yesterday by the Khazanah Research Institute. He stressed the need for collaboration with universities to foster a culture of loan repayment, particularly for courses with high repayment rates.
Ahmad Dasuki highlighted that PTPTN was established to ensure students with strong SPM results could pursue higher education in both public and private institutions. However, he noted that the institution’s sustainability hinges on borrowers meeting their repayment obligations.
“Our concept is based on a repayment model,” he said. “We encourage those who have been employed to repay their loans so we can assist other students in need.”
To date, PTPTN has disbursed RM74 billion in loans. The New Straits Times adds that a written parliamentary reply from Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir revealed 3.95 million loans worth RM71 billion had been approved by the end of last year. He also provided a breakdown of recipients, noting that 72 per cent of loans were allocated to Bumiputera students and 28 per cent to non-Bumiputera students. However, more than 2.7 million loans remain unpaid, contributing to an outstanding debt of RM32 billion.
(Source: New Straits Times)
