PTPTN to be Abolished?

Politics, not economics, has taken centre stage in the debate over the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN), which Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim says he wishes to abolish if Pakatan Rakyat takes power in GE13.

However, the PTPTN was first set up when the opposition leader was deputy prime minister and finance minister, so it seems a purely political move that Anwar has now found it convenient to say he wants to abolish the same scheme.

In fact, with the youth considered a key demographic in the coming polls, it's clear to everyone that the Opposition coalition has latched on to the PTPTN in a cynical attempt to win the votes of young Malaysians.

Pakatan's proposal to abolish the PTPTN sounds attractive at first glance, particularly to the 1.9 million students who have received study loans under the PTPTN till 2011.

But the Government has criticised this as an irresponsible populist move that could financially "ruin" the country.

Well I think  loan facility is to help needy students further their studies. It also helps those who fail to secure scholarships. Abolishing it is tantamount to denying people the right to pursue higher education.

I think the government should not give in to pressure from certain groups to abolish the scheme just to get electoral support.

This is a part of a political gimmick, his plan is attractive, but definitely not rational.

Beside that, most students understood this, and those who wanted it abolished were only a handful.

This time,  PTPTN had been politicised by the opposition to gain electoral support, but a responsible government like would not do such a thing.

This issues has been highlighted in all local media, but the government agency especially Ministry of Higher Education has come out with media plan and strategies to counter this issues. As we can see on TV and newspaper, today people are debating ‘why we should not abolish this PTPTN  

MY EULINK Higher Education Conference

'Transnational Education - Opportunities and Challenges in the 21st Century: Malaysian and European Perspectives.'

The conference was hosted with the support of the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education and explored three key themes in the current transnational education debate:

•             regional cooperation

•             research collaboration

•             mobility

The conference featured speakers from Europe and Malaysia and focused on how the lessons from Europe can be applied to the Malaysian and South East Asian context.

The speakers evaluated Europe’s attempt at integrating its various national education sectors, in particular through the so-called ‘Bologna Process’, and its experience in stimulating multi-national, collaborative research activities through EU funding mechanisms. Beside that, MYEULINK also open a two days exhibition which allowed students to find out more. 

From this program, students pursuing tertiary education will have the chance to explore scholarship opportunities, such as the Erasmus Mundus programme. Besides that students can find out more about the Erasmus Mundus programme at the EU Pavillion.

The Pavillion is organised by the Myeulink Project, a project funded by the European Union (EU) and managed by the University of Nottingham Malaysia campus.

Representatives from Germany, France, Ireland, Spain, Romania, Poland, and British universities will promote study opportunities from the EU Pavilion. 

This is another government programme that help students to achieve what they want. This event has been highlighted in local and international media channel.