Student with ambition but without the loan yet

PETALING JAYA: Mohd Affiq, who comes from a big family with nine siblings, decided to sign up for an information technology course at a private technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institute here.

The 20-year-old eldest son of a farmer did not do well in his SPM and had been working as a waiter in a tom yam stall in his hometown of Muar, earning RM900 monthly.

Several months ago, he saw an advertisement for a private TVET institute here offering IT courses and decided to go for it.

His plan was to study until the diploma level and then get a job in Singapore where he could earn about S$1,500 (RM5,000) a month.

“That would really help my family. I am worried about my father’s health, especially as he is getting old,” he said.

Mohd Affiq said he is eligible for a loan from the Skills Development Fund Corporation (PTPK), but he has yet to receive the money.

Classes at the institute have started, he said, but he did not have enough money to pay the RM250 monthly hostel fees and money for his living expenses.

He asked the institutes’ management several times about when he would receive the RM600 living expenses, and they only told him it would be paid soon, he said.

“There were times when I only ate buns because I did not want to be an extra burden on my family back in the kampung,” he said.

Since beginning the programme in July, he has only travelled home once as he did not want to incur additional expenses.

But he considered himself fortunate as the institute has allowed him to start the programme despite his loan not being approved yet.

Some of his friends have been waiting for months to start their classes because their institutes are waiting for them to get their loans first, he said.

Mohd Affiq said he hopes the government would also provide the RM2,500 laptop subsidy as he is currently borrowing one from his friends to do his course work.

He said he was determined to study hard and get his diploma within three years and would repay his education loan as soon as he gets a job.