BN Govt Bears More Than 90 Per Cent Of Education Subsidy - PM

DUNGUN (Terengganu, Malaysia), July 13 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Friday more than 90 per cent of the education subsidy is borne by the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government so that poverty will not be a hindrance to all Malaysians who want to pursue an education to better themselves. He said the subsidy took the form of various kinds of aid, including loans. "Loans from the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) provide an access to higher studies for many poor students," he said when launching the "Changing the Destiny of Our Children" programme of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) at Arena Square, here. Peninsular Malaysia's east coast state of Terengganu's Chief Minister Ahmad Said and UiTM Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Sahol Hamid Abu Bakar were also present at the event which was also attended by more than 20,000 UiTM students and staff from around the country. Najib said abolishing PTPTN loans would do away with the repayments which were necessary to provide loans to others. "The BN government will continue to uphold and provide better facilities in the education sector for the people in the future," he said. The prime minister said education was a vertical social mobility which changed the plight of the poor, providing them the opportunity to become professionals and successful. Najib said rural children had experienced much change brought about by the setting up of UiTM, which now had 200,000 students. "The (education) struggle is an ongoing one. It cannot be assumed that the struggle will end in a decade or even in one generation. "It has to be over the long term, and the results can be seen today. This is the government of today, never tired of championing the people regardless of race," he said. Najib said the government did not wish to see poverty stand in the way of people who want to pursue an education to change their lives for the better. He also said that while the country was progressing towards becoming a developed nation, the struggle to empower education was important so that all planned transformation could be implemented smoothly. -- BERNAMA