MORE GET HIGHER EDUCATION WITH PTPTN

KUALA LUMPUR: Those who do not understand the government's intention of establishing the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) would always attempt to politicise the issue, said Universiti Putra Malaysia's vice-chancellor Datuk Dr Radin Umar Radin Sohadi.

He said yesterday that one needed to analyse the higher education financing model to determine the effectiveness of PTPTN.

"In the 1970s, the number of students in Malaysia pursuing higher education was smaller. Therefore, the government could afford to give scholarships easily.

"Now, the number is much larger. If the government intends to provide education as a birthright, it will require an effective financing model."

Radin Umar, who was former Higher Education Ministry director-general, said that PTPTN represented such a model.

"Our country's higher education currently stands at 42 per cent of students and we need to reach a target of at least 50 per cent to become a developed nation.

"PTPTN is one way of ensuring more people are given access to higher education."

Radin Umar also said that "to get rid of poverty, the people needed to be educated".

"Abolishing PTPTN would be equal to depriving a large sector of the population from education."

He said the government was trying its best to abolish poverty by providing education loans and subsidies for students from poor families so that they could get better-paying jobs later.

Read more: More get higher education with PTPTN - General - New Straits Times