BAeK PTPTN paves the way to higher education for underprivileged students

 BAeK PTPTN scholarship helps children from poor and underprivileged families pursue higher education without burdening their parents.

PTPTN chairman Norliza Abdul Rahim said the PTPTN eKasih Children’s Scholarship could help break the cycle of poverty for families.

KUALA LUMPUR:

Parents do not need to sell their land or go into debt to ensure that their children can pursue higher education.

That is one objective of PTPTN’s (National Higher Education Fund Corporation) eKasih Children’s Scholarship (BAeK PTPTN), which its chairman Norliza Abdul Rahim said can help families break out of the poverty cycle.

She said socioeconomic background should not be a barrier to pursuing higher education for children from asnaf and underprivileged families.

“Sometimes, children from less well-off families are reluctant to continue their studies because their parents have to take out loans, sell land and so on.

“With BAeK PTPTN, they no longer need to worry. These children will certainly study hard to secure good jobs and improve their families’ circumstances.

“When these children succeed, it will alleviate the family’s situation and indirectly, the country’s poverty rate will also decline,” she said in an interview with FMT.

Norliza said the scholarship also allows students to focus on their studies without worrying about repaying a loan after graduation.

“When there is a scholarship, it reduces students’ dependence on loans. When they start working, they do not have to worry about repaying loans and can instead help their families and improve their standard of living.”

She also encouraged parents to cultivate a culture of saving for their children’s education from a young age to reduce dependence on loans.

Norliza said savings of as little as RM20 or RM30 a month could help build an education fund for their children to pursue higher education through the Simpan SSPN savings scheme.

BAeK PTPTN is a targeted government initiative that provides scholarships to students from poor and hardcore poor families.

Through the initiative, PTPTN financing is provided in the form of scholarships to full-time students pursuing diploma or bachelor’s degree programmes at approved public higher education institutions whose PTPTN loans were approved from Jan 1, 2026.

Recipients are selected from families registered in the eKasih database, subject to the stipulated requirements. - FMT