PTPTN widens BAeK scholarship reach nationwide

Reason to celebrate: Adam Adli (second from right) presenting the PTPTN BAeK to Nurul Shahira (second from left), who is flanked by her parents, Masayu Salleh and Dharmadeydjaya Sukar during the presentation ceremony at Ayer Keroh Heights. — Bernama

MELAKA: A total of 1,254 students nationwide have benefitted from the National Higher ­Edu­ca­tion Fund Corporation (PTPTN) eKasih Children’s Scho­larship (BAeK), involving an allocation of RM20.7mil since the initiative was launched on Jan 1 to Aug 31.

Deputy Higher Education Min­is­ter Adam Adli Abdul Halim said the initiative, introduced under Budget 2026, targets 10,000 students nationwide to receive fully funded education, especially those from low-income families registered in the eKasih database.

“Initially, we introduced it for new enrolments, but looking back at the projections and existing information, we started to expand it to students who have already been pursuing their studies for some time and still have a remaining period of study, but are eligible to receive the scholarship.

“So, we have also expanded it to students who are not limited to those newly-enrolled in 2026, but also those who enrolled previously,” he told reporters after a PTPTN BAeK presentation ceremony, which was also attended by PTPTN chief operating officer Mastura Mohd Khalid, in Ayer Keroh here yesterday.

Adam Adli said the expansion applied to students who meet the stipulated criteria.

He said that among the recipients in Melaka was Nurul Shahira Dharmadeydjaya, 22, an Environ­mental Science student at Uni­ver­siti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), who is currently in her third semester after having previously completed two semesters at the university.

He said the government had also allocated RM210mil for the implementation of the initiative this year, in addition to targeting 3,000 students with disabilities, bringing the overall target for student enrolment or intake covered by the scholarship to 13,000, Bernama reported.

Meanwhile, Mastura said students must first apply for a PTPTN loan before cross-checking with the Implementation Coordination Unit of the Prime Minister’s Dep­art­ment (ICU JPM).

She said students identified as belonging to families receiving assistance from ICU JPM would be offered the scholarship based on information verified by PTPTN.

She added that the implementation of the PTPTN BAeK was among the government’s efforts to ensu­re eligible students do not drop out due to financial cons­traints.

At the PTPTN BAeK presentation ceremony yesterday, Adam Adli presented the scholarships to four students from UKM, Universiti Teknologi Mara and Politeknik Melaka.