Students who demonstrate against loan scheme should return the money — Khaled Nordin

Posted on April 17, 2012, Tuesday

 

KUALA LUMPUR: Students involved in the demonstration, urging the government to abolish loans from the National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN), should return the money that they had borrowed.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the group of students involved in the demonstration must do so to prove that they do not want the PTPTN loan scheme to continue.

“I feel they are very brave young men, so they must return the money,” he said after launching the Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) here yesterday.

Khaled added that Universiti Selangor (Unisel), owned by the Selangor state government, must also declare whether the PTPTN should be abolished in their establishment.

“They (Unisel) must declare whether they want their students to receive PTPTN or not. If true they want the PTPTN to be abolished, they should not advertise in the papers that Unisel applicants can get PTPTN loan,” he said.

Speaking of the APEL system, Khaled said it would provide more space and opportunities for working individuals to continue their studies at Higher Learning Institutions.

Through the system, working individuals would go through an evaluation process to determine their level of competency at APEL, Open University of Malaysia (OUM) and Wawasan Open University (WOU).

“After the evaluation, they will be given certificates that will provide them opportunities to pursue their eligible courses at Higher Learning Institutions.

“APEL certificate is another form of entry level for Higher Learning Institutions, just like matriculation, STPM and A-Level,” he said. — Bernama