Putera MIC conducted a first ever online chat on tertiary education with those from the Indian Malaysian community who are intending to f urther their studies.

The discussions - which lasted for seven hours - involved more than 50 people who were eager to find out about opportunities available in universities and other colleges.

putera mic logo The discussions dealt with a number of issues including grouses by students who had been offered courses that they did not apply for and the apprehension some had in studying at Universiti Malaysia Sabah in Labuan and the Universiti Malaysia Terengganu in Kuala Terengganu.

There were also enquiries pertaining to the availability of scholarships, study grants and loans.

Facebook option for students

According to the panel of moderators, one option was for students to explore the Higher Education Ministry's post-graduate study grants.

Students needing financial help were asked to check several websites (view link) to find a comprehensive list of scholarships and grants available from various sources including the private and public sectors.

The MIC wing also offered students the option to check on job vacancies and scholarships via Facebook .

The online chat began at 10.30am and ended at 5.30pm.

The session was moderated by Putera MIC members who were former university students as well as several local university staff members.

Putera chief coordinator P Kamalanathan said he was happy with the response to the live chats.

"Based on the good response, we would extend this chat session to discuss other issues as well," he told Malaysiakini .