The Ministry of Higher Education is considering extending PTPTN’s free education initiative to eligible students at state government-owned private universities.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Higher Education is considering expanding the National Higher Education Fund Corporation’s free education initiative to underprivileged students at private institutions.

Deputy Minister Adam Adli Abd Halim said the proposal includes students at state government-owned universities, which are classified as private institutions.

“The Minister has stressed that we cannot ignore the fact that although state government-owned universities are categorised as private institutions, not all of their students come from high-income families,” he said in the Dewan Negara.

He was responding to a question on extending the initiative to students at state government-owned private institutions.

Adam Adli stated the ministry would work towards a more inclusive approach but must review its fiscal position due to significant current expenditure.

“We will do our best to expand this initiative to eligible students at private universities in the future,” he added.

Earlier, he explained the monitoring mechanism for the existing initiative for 10,000 underprivileged students.

Recipients are not allowed to receive study sponsorships simultaneously from different sponsors to ensure fair and transparent fund distribution.

“Each application is cross-checked and matched against eKasih data as well as records from other major sponsoring agencies,” he said.

He added that screening procedures have been tightened, with sponsorship terminated immediately for any breach of terms or submission of false documents.

 The Sun Malaysia