Students to take to the streets against PTPTN

Students to take to the streets against PTPTN

Malaysiakini – Fri, Mar 30, 2012

The student group Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia (SMM) will hold a rally on April 14 to demand the immediate abolition of the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loans, a scheme that is said to be a burden to university undergraduates.

Speaking at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today, SMM chairperson Mohd Safwan Anang said they target to attract 5,000 students and youths to attend the rally, to be held at Dataran Merdeka in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.

“We want the government to abolish PTPTN immediately, failing which the students will vote en masse for somebody else who can do it,” he said.

Mohd Safwan was upset with the recent statement of Higher Education Minister Khaled Nordin, who said such abolition is not viable as it burdens the government and curtails students’ competitiveness.

“Our country’s tax revenues were RM169 billion last year. Under this year’s Budget, RM50.1 billion was allocated for the education sector, but only RM12.1 billion was designated for public universities.

“On the other hand, we see the total amount of loans approved by PTPTN was only RM6.1 billion, so in what sense can the government say they can’t afford to scrap it?” he said.

Malaysia Reformist Student Club (Karisma) secretary-general Mohd Hafizuddin Abdul Mukti noted that Sri Lanka and Mauritius have adopted a free education policy, alongside European countries such as Norway, Sweden and Scotland.

“Malaysia, as a country with rich natural resources such as petroleum and timber, has no excuse in not granting free education. 

“Furthermore, Mauritius has started providing free transportation to its university students since 2005,” he said.

'An indebted generation'

The group argued that the PTPTN scheme produces an indebted generation where students are compelled to bear the heavy loan repayments of up to RM50,000 or more upon their graduation.

It is not helped by the fact that a fresh graduate only gets a salary of RM2,000 a month, which they claimed is insufficient for the scheme’s installments, expenditures for himself or herself and contributions to parents.

“Education should be the responsibility of government, not a tool for capitalists to make money,” Mohd Safwan said.

The group also called on the government to remove the names of some 132,000 people who were blacklisted by PTPTN so that the individual’s freedom of movement would not be curtailed.

The rally is supported by the Malaysia Free Education Movement, Malaysian Islamic Students National Association and Parti Sosialis Malaysia.

NOTE
PASS THIS AROUND! COME TOGETHER ON APRIL 14, 2012 to hold a rally to demand the immediate abolition of the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loans! ALL STUDENTS AND SUPPORTERS TO PLEASE COME ON APRIL 14, 2012 TO DEMAND FOR FREE EDUCATION FOR ALL REGARDLESS OF RACE, RELIGION AND POLITICAL IDEOLOGY!

stupid SMM.... mahasiswa ni semua patut toksah belajar jer...abis sekolah terus kerja atau amik stpm je.. toksah menyusahkan orang..aku dulu belajar jugak..pinjam jugak...abis belajar aku kerja la... walaupun kerja kat shopping dgn gaji berih siap tolak EPF campur OT ada la jugak dalam 700++...siap dok rumah parent sebelum dapat kerja tetap pasal gaji ciput n nak bayar loan... still aku bayar jugak sikit. sekarang dah abis pun loan ptptn aku...belum abis belajar dah banyak cakap...pathetic betul korang ni..

Wah, looks like gahmen cybertrooper already come to lawyerment.com.my website.

We need to know that EDUCATION is the right for all PEOPLE.
It should not be overly commercialized to make money.

A knowledged rakyat is an asset to the nation.
At one time, education is free in Australia.

What I like to share is that EDUCATION if not free
should be made affordable to all. Not just the middle
income group but even the very poor.

WE SHOULD NOT DEPRIVE PEOPLE OF EDUCATION EVEN IF THE
STUDENTS ARE NOT VERY GOOD IN STUDIES. SOME STUDENTS
THOUGH NOT ACADEMICALLY GOOD BUT THEY MAY BE GOOD IN
PRACTICAL EDUCATION LIKE TECHNICAL/VOCATIONAL TRAINING
WHERE THEY MAY HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO EXCEL AND EVEN GO
AS FAR AS GETTING A PhD IN THEIR OWN PASSIONATE FIELD.

"EDUCATION MAKES A MAN" - Francis Bacon.

btw i not gahmen cybertrooper la mr romeo... i just annoyed with SMM ways... no brain..masa aku belajar dulu puak2 camni la opportunist sebenarnya... nak jadi hero tak kena tempat.

yeah mr tax payer...u r right..student should always be burden with loans before they finish up their studies...long time ago when u were small children..education WAS FREE.....so..what CGPA did u get? If second class lower..u r pathetic too...tp xper la..since u r a good paymaster..n ur TAX Money alone can cover the whole nation development

(student should always be burden with loans before they finish up their studies)peminjam ptptn...adakah kamu masih belajar lagi? dari cara kamu saya rasa kamu ni dari group SMM saja...benarkah student di bebani loan semasa mereka belum abis belajar lagi? itu saya tidak tahu kerana saya tak pernah rasa terbeban semasa meminjam dulu. memang benar education masa kita kecil adalah free..sekarang ni pun lagi banyak freenya hingga yuran SPM pun tak yah bayar lagi....  takkan lah nak belajar kat U yg gov memang dah subsidi banyak yuran pengajian pun ada nak komplen lagi..cuma kamu lihat kalau pelajar luar negara belajar di u tempatan kita..adakah sama yurannya dgn kita? kalau nak free tu bertempat la... adakah peminjam ptptn benar2 pakai pinjaman tu utk pengajian? setahu saya la..loan tu utk belajar saja..cukup utk bayar yuran dan ada balance..kebanyakkan pekerja yang saya jumpa tak bayar pun pinjaman tapi masih mampu membeli kereta dari jepun.. mentaliti tetap sama.ingatlah..anak2 kamu satu hari nanti bakal pinjam juga utk belajar...