Subsidy for the tuition fees of Malay students at institutes of higher learning

Question

Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs (a) what is the surplus amount from the non-disbursement of Tertiary Tuition Fee Subsidy (TTFS) for 2012; and (b) how many more students have benefited from the scheme in 2012 after the introduction of the revised criteria, compared to 2010 and 2011.

Response

Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: The Tertiary Tuition Fee Subsidy (TTFS) is a subsidy for the tuition fees of Malay Students at institutes of higher learning (IHLs).

The grant is disbursed by Yayasan MENDAKI to eligible students. In 2012, the undisbursed TTFS amount is $15.48 million, which is 32.9% of the $47.00 million TTFS advance received by Mendaki. The undisbursed TTFS funds are channelled to MENDAKI's Education Development Fund (EDF) to support educational assistance schemes and other educational programmes.

With the revised income criteria in 2012, the number of students who benefited in academic year (AY) 2012 increased by 3,805 compared to AY2011. For AY2012, 5,973 students benefitted from TTFS compared to 2,168 students for AY2011 and 2,182 students for AY2010.