KOTA KINABALU: National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loan holders are proposing to the government to introduce a more comprehensive scheme to assisting students to repay their debts.
While the introduction of an incentive in the form of a discount for the repayment of PTPTN loans announced in the 2013 Budget was highly welcomed, something should be done to ensure students are able to repay their loans immediately after completing their studies, said Malai Rosmah Tuah.
“I would suggest the government to come up with a comprehensive scheme to help those who have yet to secure employment to pay their PTPTN loans.
“There should be a mechanism to ensure everyone can start paying immediately after graduating even if they have yet to start working, so that the PTPTN fund will not shrink due to non-performing loans,” she said.
The priority, said Malai Rosmah, was to ensure that more student of the next generation could enjoy the same facility while those who have completed their studies would not get blacklisted for failure to pay their loans due to financial difficulties.
Those who have been blacklisted, she noted, would not be allowed to leave the country and this would place a limit to their employment prospects as they would not be able to find work overseas.
“But it has to be ensured that repaying the loan would not be a burden, and that they can still pay it even if they have yet to have a job, through some kind of government assistance,” she added.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak when tabling the Budget on Friday announced a discount of 20 per cent from the total loan would be given to borrowers who settle their loans in one lump sum within one year from Oct 1, 2012 to Sept 30, 2013.
For those repaying their loan consistently according to schedule from Oct 1, a discount of 10 per cent annually would be given, he added.
Najib said this was part of several incentives introduced to facilitate repayment of the PTPTN loans.
Another PTPTN loan holder, Suriani Syukri, said the announcement was highly welcomed, although it might be less than what was hoped for by many.
She noted the opposition have promised a totally free education if they come to power and cancel all the outstanding education loans.
“This sounds too good to be true and would probably put too much pressure on the government’s fianance. Maybe not a good thing for the country.
“Nevertheless, such a promise have left many PTPTN loan holders expecting a little more from the government, but 10 to 20 per cent discount is better than nothing,” she said.
The 27-year-old private sector worker said the Prime Minister has done the right thing to include students and PTPTN loan holders in his budget.
This discount, she said, would serve well for those who are now working as they can start or continue paying their loan with the knowledge that they now have less to pay.