JELI: Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) will retain its policy of converting student loans into scholarships for scholars who obtain sterling results.
Rural Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Harun said the policy has been a mainstay of MARA all this while.
“The system of converting student loans into scholarships for high-performing scholars has long been in place.
“This will be retained. We will not be following the move made by PTPTN (National Higher Education Fund Corporation),” she told reporters after officiating a road works project in Kampung Berdang here on Saturday.
NSTP had previously reported Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, during the 2019 Budget tabling, having announced that the move to rescind PTPTN loans for borrowers would only apply to those from the lower-income (B40) group who obtain first-class honours.
PTPTN chairman Wan Saiful Wan Jan was quoted as saying that it has yet to decide on when the move will take effect. He said PTPTN is still deliberating whether current borrowers who obtain first-class honours would be exempted from the decision or otherwise.
Wan Saiful had also said that a new repayment method and mechanism for PTPTN loan repayment to help ease the burden of low-income earners, will be unveiled next month. The new repayment system, he said, is being drafted, with PTPTN holding meetings with the public to obtain feedback on how it can be best implemented.
