Unfair to suspend PTPTN loans for low-repayment courses - group

A student group has panned the proposal to suspend National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loans for university courses with low repayment rates.

The University of Malaya Association of New Youth (Umany) said the proposal was unfair and failed to address the cause of the low repayment rates.

The move would punish innocent students rather than those who have defaulted on repayments, the group added.

“The primary reason for low repayment rates is the large number of graduates struggling to repay loans… (The proposal is) punishing the innocent rather than the guilty.

“A student’s ability to repay a loan depends on personal financial circumstances, not the course they pursued,” Umany said in a statement today.

On Nov 14, PTPTN chief executive Ahmad Dasuki Abdul Majid reportedly told a webinar that the corporation was considering withholding funding for university courses with student repayment rates below 30 percent.

It was previously reported that as of Dec 31, 2021, RM32.29 billion in PTPTN loans remained unpaid by 2,716,110 borrowers.

Meanwhile, Umany warned that such a move would disproportionately affect underprivileged students enrolling in the targeted courses.

Such courses may already be facing low enrolment numbers, so adopting the measure could push these programmes to the margins and out of Malaysia’s education system.

“Umany urges the government not to proceed with this proposal, which would deprive students of educational opportunities and stifle diversity in education.

“Education should not only nurture students’ character and cultural understanding but also develop talent across various fields,” it added.

It urged the government to instead investigate the true causes of loan defaulting.

It noted that many fresh graduates are facing low wages, and the government should engage with them to understand their challenges and work to resolve wage issues in the labour market.

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