Latest news on PTPTN

NST Online » Local News
2008/06/11

Deposit waived for study loans
By : Jennifer Gomez

KUALA LUMPUR: Parents who intend to take a loan from the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) for their children's studies this year need not pay a RM3,000 deposit.

Instead, they only need to open a savings account with a RM20 minimum deposit. This was announced by Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin yesterday in a statement.

Currently, families earning more than RM2,000 need to deposit RM3,000 and families earning less than RM2,000 must put in RM500 before their children qualify for the education loan.

He said the exemption was only for this year.

Cut in administrative charge for PTPTN loan
By: Husna Yusop (Fri, 13 Jun 2008) , the sundaily.com


PUTRAJAYA: The administrative charge for the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loan, which is being paid by graduates six months after completion of course, is expected to be reduced by 50% from the current 3% to 1.5%.

This follows calls made by many quarters to reduce or abolish the charge as they said it is a burden to the graduates while some claimed it contains elements of interest which is prohibited in Islam.

The ministry has initiated a review of the administrative charge beginning April.

However, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin yesterday refused to confirm the new rate, saying a study on it has been conducted and is at the final stage now and an announcement will only be made after it has been agreed by the cabinet.

"It will be good. If there is a review, it means the rate will go down, not come up. By how much, I will announce later. I will try to bring it to the cabinet meeting next week," he said after launching the ministry’s Transformation Plan yesterday.

As of January 2004, all PTPTN education loans were charged an administrative cost of 3%. Previously, the rate was at 4%.

In another development, Khaled said nine universities which have applied to be recognised as Apex (Accelerated Programme for Excellence) University are

International Islamic University Malaysia, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Universiti Teknologi Petronas and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and the four research universities, namely Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia and Universiti Putra Malaysia.

"We are at the final stage to select which one to be categorised as Apex. The announcement will be made in July," he added.

On the select committee for the appointment of university vice-chancellors, Khaled said the ministry has decided there would be only two permanent committees, one for the research universities and another for the 16 non-research universities.

On the move to merge private institutions of higher education, he said at the moment, the number is too big at 505 institutions and the ministry is facilitating them to ensure they are relevant, adequate and of high quality.

He said the ministry’s recent institutional audit would be able to identify the institutions’ strengths and weaknesses and apart from closing down certain institutions, it would also be strict in approving applications for new colleges.

"We will follow the process. It is not our intention to simply shut them down. We are facilitating. Only those which are facing problems, have no students or with complaints from the public will be affected," he said.

--- end ---

University of Malaya medical student intake

Letters by cat

A Background Introduction

Entering the Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur is still the prized aspiration of many doctor-wannabes. The medical degree conferred by UM is the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) which is the title awarded by universities in the United Kingdom and Australia. Other local public universities like University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) confer medical degrees in the acronym of MD which stands for doctor of medicine (Latin: Medicinæ Doctor).

Contrary to the common but erroneous perception among pre-university students, there is no difference between the MBBS and MD medical degrees.

Up till 2001, University Malaya along with other local universities practised an intake of medical students based on a quota system. Under the quota system, the ratio of medical students was in the order of 6:3:1 that is, 60% of places for bumiputeras, 30% for Chinese Malaysians and 10% for Indian Malaysian students. Bumiputera students comprised both Malays and the non-Malay bumiputeras from Sabah and Sarawak.






From 2002 onwards, the UMNO government introduced a system of ‘meritocracy’ whereby the intake of students into local universities was based solely on academic achievement without regards to co-curricular activities and ethnic background. Conventionally, bumiputera students took matriculation as the pre-university examinations while the non-bumiputeras took the STPM/Sixth Form examinations. There are occasional exceptions though these are rare. Some Malay students do take the STPM route and vice versa.





As of 2004, the non-bumiputera Chinese and Indians students were allocated 10% of the total matriculation seats. This was the beginning of a new era in the local universities especially for the most competitive courses. Beginning 2004, the majority of non-bumiputera students entering courses like medicine, pharmacy, dentistry and engineering courses were from matriculation background.

In addition, from 2001-2003, University of Malaya accepted additional students from the Royal College of Medicine Perak (RCMP) in a supposed and controversial twinning program between the two institutions. The number of RCMP students taken in between 2001-2003 numbered 13, 60 and 90 respectively. These comprised mostly bumiputera Malay students. Upon graduation, these students were conferred a medical degree indistinguishable from the degree awarded to ‘genuine’ University of Malaya medical students.

The Motive

This article intends to inform and reveal statistics as they really are. The numbers quoted do not include students accepted into the faculty from the Royal College of Medicine Perak.

I have divided the intake of students into the MBBS program by ethnicity and route of entry.

Discussion

You are at liberty to draw your own conclusions by studying the charts and tables.

In order to facilitate thinking however, I have arbitrarily chosen three different points of view.

From a Racist Angle

The pre-‘meritocracy’ era ensure a minimum number of students from each major ethnic group. The bumiputeras made up 60% of the total intake, from which usually about 15 were composed of non-Malay bumiputeras from Sabah/Sarawak. As seen from the charts, their numbers have dwindled from a pathetic 9% to a miserable 1% under the current so-called meritocracy system.

Indian Malaysians used to form 10% of the student population under the quota system, numbering around 15-18 depending on the total annual intake. In 2003, Indian Malaysian students were left in a quandary when they had but one solitary representative in the medical faculty of University Malaya. Since then however, their numbers have somehow reached a figure comparable to that under the quota system. Their absolute number may not have slid much, but the percentage has decreased remarkably. HINDRAF apologists should take note of this.

The supposedly marginalized Chinese Malaysians have the least to be dissatisfied over. From a mere 30% representation under the quota system, they have increased in both absolute numbers as well as percentage, forming about 40-50% of the annual student intake. This came at a costly price though, as most of these Chinese students were from matriculation background. The Chinese students from STPM background can never compete with the matriculation students despite attaining excellent results.

If ethnicity is the sole issue here, the non-Malay bumiputeras from Sabah and Sarawak are the biggest losers among the races in meritocracy Malaysian style. Chinese Malaysians should zip up and continue throwing their support behind the beggar political party named MCA so that the MCA can continue their boot-licking heritage to beg and plead for the crumbs falling from UMNO’s golden platter.

It should not be forgotten that from 2001-2003, the Ministry of Education admitted additional Malay bumiputera students into the MBBS course via a backdoor named the Royal College of Medicine Perak. The official reported figures therefore do not reflect the actual student composition seated in the lecture halls of University Malaya Medical Faculty. When these RCMP students are added to the total student intake, the non-Malays student population in both absolute number and percentage falls to a very low figure indeed.

Do the maths yourself.

From an Academic Perspective

The essence of meritocracy is remarkably similar to Darwin’s ‘survival of the fittest’.

The pre-2002 quota system was a very flawed one.

Ethnicity was a very crucial criterion for acceptance into university, medical school included. Merit took second place and thus compromised the selection of students into every discipline. Universities had little or no autonomy as the selection of students was decided by the Unit Pusat Universiti (UPU), an institution under the Ministry of Education.

Academic achievements in national exams accounted for 90% of the points for entry into university while co-curricular achievements the remaining 10%. Many a time, students are tied in terms of academic achievements. The final deciding factor therefore was one’s co-curricular achievements. However, students are not required to submit their certified documents in order to support their claims of any grandiose extra-curricular activities.

The current system of meritocracy is no better and in fact worse. Since its introduction in 2002, the evaluation methodology has undergone such frequent changes that no one knows for sure what measures are employed to gauge students’ qualification into local universities.

Converting one’s STPM grades into a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) as practised for matriculation students is like trying to smell the color 9. It is not possible, not intelligent and is basically an effort of make-believe only. The two pre-university examinations are different in syllabus, level of difficulty, and criteria for final assessment.

The odds are heavily stacked against STPM candidates and therefore directly non-bumiputera students. Comparing STPM with matriculation results has resulted in the drastic drop in STPM students in competitive courses over the last five years. When the playing ground is unequal, true meritocracy and fair competition is practically impossible.

On another note, that the Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya has noticeably increased its annual intake of medical students by almost 30% over the last eight years. This is alarming in view of the limited resources in our local institutions. Like other public universities, University Malaya has lost a great number of experienced academicians over the years. Its teaching staff now comprises mostly junior lecturers who are still climbing their career ladder or themselves undergoing training under the Skim Latihan Akademik Bumiputera (SLAB) program. A great number of these SLAB lecturers have barely one year of clinical experience before joining the academic ranks. Can they be relied upon to provide quality teaching and sound guidance?

Infrastructures and facilities are also not unlimited. Laboratories that were designed to host 15 students are now cramming 25 students. The quality of teaching and learning is therefore significantly compromised. Small group teaching is almost non-existent.

Indeed, the oft repeated quantity versus quality axiom never goes stale.

More important than a student’s entry qualification is one’s performance throughout the duration of study and the quality of product upon graduation.

The entry of non-bumiputra students into matriculation and therefore university has vastly changed the university’s landscape. Non-bumiputra matriculation students now outnumber their STPM counterparts in ratio of 10:1. In the last five years, the performance of non-bumiputra students in most local universities has deteriorated remarkable, a phenomenon not previously seen commonly. Failure and dropout rates across the races have skyrocketed to alarming levels. In 2004, the first year when non-bumiputra matriculation students first entered university, the failure rates for medical students were as high as 15%. Over the years the failure rates have decreased somewhat but still significantly higher than yesteryears. One hypothesis is the lack of competition among students. Previously, weaker students were forced to measure up to the more competent ones. In a scenario where most are equally inept, there is no drive and motivation to rise beyond mediocrity.

We have yet to witness the graduating products of these students with predominant matriculation graduates. From their performance thus far in university, one cannot be labeled pessimistic for being less than hopeful.

From a Sensible Viewpoint

Malaysia doesn’t need a committee of experts and academicians to produce an expensive and much-hyped blueprint in Malaysian higher education.

It’s not rocket science, advance trigonometry or quantum physics.

At the heart of most pressing issues is political will. Where there is no will, there is no way our local institutions can lift itself out of the doldrums.

UMNO controls everything and the narcissistic UMNO mindset seeps far and wide into the upper echelons of local universities.

Selection of students may be meritocracy in rhetoric but very much race-based in practice. The ratio among the races has changed little since the inception of Malaysian meritocracy. In the background are probably unseen political forces and manipulative hands that ensure a certain distribution of races into the faculties. The non-Malay bumiputeras from Sabah and Sarawak have not really been marginalized in terms of university intake. They have simply opted to apply to University Malaysia Sarawak and University Malaysia Sabah for reasons that are obvious.

The university authorities are not oblivious to the radical plunge in the quality of students entering competitive courses like medicine. The apparent arrest of high failure rates beginning 2004 was not because of proactive measures taken by the universities but because the goal post has been moved and widened to allow for easier passage.

Importantly to note, an STPM or matriculation background is no guarantee of one’s performance in and beyond university. STPM students flunk examinations even in the so-called glorious days in the distant past. Similarly, matriculation students have aced assessments without the need of crutches or leaked questions.

Regardless, academic achievement in university is no reflection of one’s competency at work later on. It is however, a partial and reliable testimony of one’s attitude towards responsibilities and job commitments.

The solution to our higher education woes is not difficult actually.

The answer becomes obvious and clear when we look towards our tiny neighbour called Singapore.

Singapore stands tall among the shoulders of giants.

Understanding the spirit of accommodation

Thursday, 24 July 2008 08:38
REFLECTING ON THE LAW
By SHAD SALEEM FARUQI, THE STAR

The ideal that animates the Constitution is one of justice for all irrespective of race, religion, region or gender.

MINISTER in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz deserves praise for his courageous and principled stand on the 55:45 ratio for Public Services Division (PSD) scholarships for bumiputras and non-bumiputras.

His critics in Parliament – MPs Datuk Ibrahim Ali (Pasir Mas) and Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (Pasir Salak) – raised constitutional issues that require clarification.

Some of what was said by these honourable MPs was deeply defamatory of the Constitution’s sacred provisions and was also detrimental to preserving racial harmony in our dazzlingly diverse society.

To begin with, one must point out that the Constitution of the Federation of Malaya was founded on the courage, conviction and compromises of the leaders of the Alliance who had to grapple not only with inter-ethnic rivalries but also with the demands of the radicals within their own communities.

In the final blueprint, Malay-Muslim features were balanced by provisions suitable for a multi-racial and multi-religious society. Malay privileges were offset by safeguards for the interest of other communities. The spirit that animated the Constitution was of moderation, compassion and compromise.

This spirit was totally lacking in the diatribe by the honourable MPs from Pasir Mas and Pasir Salak.

Ibrahim’s interpretation that the Constitution provides for scholarships only for bumiputras is an extremist interpretation of the affirmative action provisions of Article 153 of the Constitution.

Article 153 (on the special position of Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak) is replete with clauses that seek to balance the interests of the various communities.

First, the Article provides for quotas and reservations and not outright or total or exclusive allocation. It is noteworthy that in Article 153 the word “reservation” occurs at seven places; the term “quota” is found once; the terms “such proportion as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong may deem reasonable” recur four times.

In Article 153(2) the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is enjoined to “ensure the reservation for Malays and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak of such proportion as he may deem reasonable of ? scholarships, exhibitions and other educational or training privileges or special facilities given or accorded by the Federal Government ...”

The proportion is not specified and, as Nazri correctly pointed out, the proportion is determined by considerations of fairness and justice.

Second, Article 153(1) also explicitly mentions that along with protecting Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak, it shall be the responsibility of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to safeguard “the legitimate interests of other communities”.

Third, the reservations and quotas are enjoined only in areas permitted by the Constitution. There are four such areas: positions in the public services; scholarships, educational or training privileges; permits or licenses for the operation of any trade or business; and places in institutions of higher learning providing education after MCE.

Fourth, Article 153 clauses (4), (7) and ( expressly state that in safeguarding the special position of Malays and natives, no person can be deprived of any office, scholarship, educational or training privilege, right, permit or licence (including the renewal of licence) that was already held by him.

Fifth, nothing in Article 153 permits Parliament to restrict business or trade solely to Malays or natives.

Sixth, elsewhere in the Constitution protection is accorded to the orang asli: Article 8(5)(c).

The MPs for Pasir Mas and Pasir Salak must be reminded that the letter and spirit of Article 8 of our Constitution is equality before the law and equal protection of the law. The ideal that animates the Constitution is the ideal of justice for all irrespective of race, religion, region or gender.

However, the Constitution recognises that due to the weaker economic and educational position of the Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak, a scheme of reservations and quotas is necessary for their social amelioration and for bridging the gap between legal equality and socio-economic disparities.

Ibrahim’s suggestion that scholarships for non-bumiputras should come only from a special fund contributed by the private sector is puzzling. On what legal, moral or rational basis he advocates such a policy is difficult to understand.

Perhaps he is unmindful that the private sector contributes to taxes that fill the coffers from which government largesse is derived.

It is submitted that the spirit of Article 153 is of affirmative action for Malays and natives, not of hostile discrimination against “non-bumiputras”.

Outright or exclusive allocation of public scholarships for any one community was not envisaged by the Constitution. Instead, reservations and quotas to the extent deemed reasonable by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong were mandated.

This clearly means that the Public Services Division, Mara, the ministries, all universities, statutory authorities and government-owned companies that grant scholarships are entitled to give assistance to all deserving citizens irrespective of race, religion or gender but subject to the quotas set by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the advice of the political executive.

It is clear, therefore, that during the debate in Parliament on PSD scholarships, Nazri walked steadfast on the high road of constitutionalism. His detractors were taking pot shots from the undergrowth of race and prejudice.

Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi is Professor of Law at UiTM

Saturday August 9, 2008
Students queue up as early as 3am to submit PTPTN documents
By OH ING YEEN


THE rush to submit documents for the National Higher Education Fun Corporation (PTPTN loan) has got to students of the Tunku Abdul Rahman (TAR) College.

They started queuing up at the college’s main hall from as early as 3am despite the numbers given out at 9am.

This is to ensure that they get a number to submit documents for the loan as only 500 numbers were allocated daily.

Student Chin C.C. said she missed her class to wait for her turn to submit her documents.


Long wait: TAR College students lining up to have their particulars verified before submitting their documents.

“The numbers were given out at 9am but they only allow 30 students in the hall at a time. I’d prefer if they allowed everyone in at the same time,” she said.

But fellow student Yik Yeen was not as lucky as the numbers ran out before his turn, even though he came at 7am.

“It’s not very systematic, they could have been more efficient,” he said.

Student affairs department director Chew Peck Hon said there were 2,250 loans offered.

She said the reason for allowing students in batches was because of limited space in the hall.

“The hall can’t accommodate a big rush,” she added.

A PTPTN officer, who declined to be named, said this was the second year that they were using the PTPTN online system.

“Many students preferred the previous manual system as they were used to it and it was easier to correct mistakes.”

She said it only took five minutes to check the students’ documents provided that they filled in all the correct details.

“This is an official agreement, thus it is our responsibility to verify all the information thoroughly. It can’t be rushed,” she said in reply to students who complained that the process was slow.

2008/08/14

PTPTN service fee fixed at 1pc
By : Farrah Naz Karim



PUTRAJAYA: The new service fee for National Higher Education Corporation loans is now a flat rate of one per cent, down from three to five per cent

In making the decision yesterday, the cabinet decided that effective June 1, the new rate would be extended to borrowers for all undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

They include all future and existing borrowers as well as those servicing their loans following the completion of their studies.

Students applying for loans before the new system is implemented will have their applications processed and approved according to existing rates and an adjustment will be made later when the new system is developed by December.

Previously, the administration fee for PTPTN undergraduate borrowers was three per cent while the charges for postgraduate study loans were fixed at five per cent.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the National Fatwa Council, which was consulted on the matter, was agreeable with the decision.

The matter was brought before the council to determine whether the fee was syariah-compliant.

In meeting syariah requirements, the fee must be entirely for service charges.

In line with the change, Khaled said new agreements would be issued to all borrowers by early next year. They will then have one month to complete the new agreement and return them to PTPTN.

"If a borrower fails to do this, he will continue to service his loan under the old rate."