Another Selangor college slapped with PTPTN freeze

Another Selangor-owned higher education institution has been slapped with a freeze on their National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN) loan after Universiti Selangor (Unisel).

According a newly enrolled student at the Selangor International Islamic University College (Kuis), a briefing was held on Wednesday night at the university informing them of the suspension of PTPTN loans until further notice.

The student, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, told Malaysiakini that the briefing was given by the head of the department of scholarships and loans to all the students in the newest intake.

At the one hour briefing given to almost five hundred students, it was announced that the PTPTN loans were frozen because Unisel and Kuis are under the Selangor government.

“The students were shocked at the announcement, because many of us need the financial aid for our education,” said the student.

Yesterday, Kuis’ name also popped up in PTPTN’s statement defending their decision to halt loans to Unisel, raising the question whether the former would suffer the same fate.

The Kuis student added that university officials claimed they were waiting for further instructions on when the loans will be resumed.

Minister confirms freeze

In a Sinar Harian report today, PTPTN chairperson Ismail Mohamed Said confirmed that the body has frozen Kuis’ loans.

“Yes, PTPTN loans for Kuis have been frozen. The reasons are the same as that for Unisel,” he told the Malay daily.

Meanwhile, in a tweet today, Deputy Higher Education Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said, "the Kuis rector has met me and I have informed the minister of his appeal for PTPTN not to freeze its loans to Kuis students. A letter from Kuis will follow."

The controversy over the freezing of PTPTN loans started when students in Unisel’s April intake found themselves unable to apply for loans.

Higher Education Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin this week confirmed that the freeze was a challenge to the Selangor government’s ability to give free tertiary education.

Today, a group of students who were involved in the anti-PTPTN march on April vowed to organise a demonstration against Khaled if loans are not reinstated within a week, and called for him to resign.

In the wake of the controversy, Malaysiakini reported that PTPTN has this morning decided to lift its temporary freeze on giving study loans to Unisel and Kuin students.

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