Minster of Education Dr. Ibrahim Hassan has revealed students can now apply for loans or scholarships to pursue higher education from any country. Although the higher education ministry made the statement, 192 applications were rejected in the first run as students applied for loans to study in countries which were not specified by the ministry.
Speaking on a programme aired on PSM news, Higher Education Minister Ibrahim Hassan stated the ministry will publish the details of the applications that were rejected, which resulted in many students not receiving loans. Furthermore, the minister said several efforts are underway to minimise the rejection of applications, adding efforts have been launched to familiarise applicants on submitting legitimate documents before the deadline.
Noting students can now apply for scholarships or loans to study in any country, he mentioned 100 percent of the expenses will be covered for specified countries.
Initially, loans and scholarships were only granted to study in China, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Ukraine, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Czech Republic, Azerbaijan and countries from the SAARC region. While 993 students applied for higher education loans, only 79 students were given the loans. Clarifying the issue, the minister said many applications submitted were in contrary to the policy.
A total of 242 loans will be issued under the higher education scheme, according to the higher education ministry. While 79 students attained loans in the first run, a further 163 students will be selected from extended application window.