Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) will pay the scholarships to 11,186 of its sponsored students at Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) for the July and September 2015 intakes before end of this month.

In giving the assurance, Mara chairperson Annuar Musa said RM264 million had been allocated for these payments.

Meanwhile, he said, payment for the January intake this year would be made next month.

“We are not hiding it (late payments) because Mara is having some problems and must make some adjustments as the cost of sponsorships has increased and we have to settle the payments for our existing sponsored students.

“Despite the economic situation, the number of applications for sponsorships have not gone down. In fact, more and more students are applying now,” he told a media conference for the Mara chairperson-personnel engagement programme in Ipoh today.

Annuar also urged all UniKL students who had dropped out due to financial problems or because of the baseless allegation that Mara had stopped its sponsorships to return to the institution as Mara would continue sponsoring them to complete their studies.

He said to date, Mara had sponsored more than 75,000 students at various local and foreign institutions, with 30 percent in private colleges.

- Bernama