PUTRAJAYA – National Higher Education Fund Corp (PTPTN), borrowers may have to repay their loans through automatic monthly salary deductions under a new proposal.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said this method, called Income Contingent Loan (ICL), was practical and would not burden PTPTN borrowers.
The ICL is one of the recommendations by the National Higher Education Policy Review and Review Committee, and would be implemented by the Inland Revenue Board, Bernama reported.
Anwar said the proposal being considered would help the government study loans from borrowers who have completed their education and are now in the workforce.
“Until May 2023, the amount of unpaid loans is RM66.9 billion. This amount, if paid, can finance approximately 2.5 million new students,” Anwar said, adding that the government was worried about the fund’s long-term sustainability.
The prime minister said this in the text of his speech read out by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof at the closing ceremony of the National Higher Education Open Day.
The event was organised by the Higher Education Ministry, and its minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin was also present.
The review committee, which made the ICL proposal, is tasked with reforming the higher education sector. – October 23, 2023