Slashing overseas scholarships will save Govt RM240mil

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government says it will save RM240mil by slashing 744 overseas scholarships this year.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman in a parliamentary written reply said that as of now there were 7,736 students studying overseas on government funding.

“The amount to fund one student studying overseas annually under a Public Service Department (JPA) scholarship differs.

It depends on the country of education and the field of study,” she said in reply to Seputeh MP Teresa Kok.

The average amount for students studying locally usually varied between RM10,350 and RM12,690 annually.

“However for those studying overseas it was between RM38,115 and RM277,515,” she said.

In January, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said that JPA scholarships were being cut as part of the Budget 2016 recalibration.