Scholarships for Palestinians funded mostly by private varsities, says Higher Education Dept

PUTRAJAYA: The RM11.47mil worth of scholarships for Palestinians are not entirely funded by public universities, says the Higher Education Department.

Its director-general, Datin Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir, clarified that only one out of the 12 higher education institutions involved in the programme was a public university.

"There has been a confusion, and I hope the public won't jump to conclusions," she said. 

"Local institutions could mean either public or private. It doesn't mean the funds are coming from the ministry," she said on Thursday (May 23).

The institutions involved include UCSI University, Sunway University, Al Bukhary International University and Mahsa University.

Dr Siti Hamisah added that not all 140 scholarships are full scholarships.

Many social media users expressed their frustrations online, after Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad made the announcement on Wednesday (May 22), thinking that the Government was funding the scholarships.

Dr Siti Hamisah said private institutions have been providing scholarships to local students for the past few years, amounting to more than RM100mil.

"They have been giving and providing a lot of tuition waivers as well," she said. "So, to say they are not contributing (to local students) is also unfair." 

She added that giving scholarships to international students had been the practice of private institutions for years.

"These types of scholarships are not one of a kind," she said. 

"In fact, Singapore some times offer scholarships to Malaysian students who excel in their studies. 

"They want to bring in good quality students to their universities to improve and enhance (the university's quality) and provide competition.

"Having international students and giving scholarships also promote the country," she added.

Currently, around 173,000 international students are studying in tertiary institutions in the country, most of whom are enrolled in private institutions.

"I hope we remain level headed," Dr Siti Hamisah said. 

"Because at the end of the day, we must trust our own system, whereby if we give scholarships, we give it to our local students and if we need to internationalise, then we give to others as well," she added.