Saturday August 7, 2004

PM launches higher education savings plan

BY JANE RITIKOS

KUALA LUMPUR: Parents worried about the raising cost of higher education can now turn to the National Education Saving Scheme (SSPN).

The Prime Minister said the scheme would allow Malaysians to plan ahead for their children’s higher education.

In launching it yesterday, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced that one of the benefits of the scheme – which has a RM300mil start-up capital from the Government and is under the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) – was a matching grant for those with household incomes of RM1,200 and below.

The scheme, he added, combined the concepts of savings and insurance, with depositors eligible for free insurance or takaful coverage and compensation or death benefits.

It is open to all Malaysians with children up to 18 years old.

Depositors will also get tax-exempt dividends or annual bonuses with a government guarantee on their savings.

The scheme, Abdullah said, was specially designed to help parents send their children for further studies at public and recognised private institutions of higher learning.

STARTING YOUNG: Abdullah carrying seven-month-old Naqiudin Zaidi, while Higher Education Minister Datuk Dr Shafie Mohd Salleh applauds during the launch of the scheme at PWTC in Kuala Lumpur.--STARpic by KEVIN TAN.

For the matching grant, a maximum RM10,000 is available to each eligible depositor. To qualify, depositors must have saved at least RM500 and have been with the scheme for not less than 10 years.

The grant will be awarded when the eligible beneficiary gains entry into an institution of higher learning.

Parents can open SSPN accounts with Bumiputra-Commerce Bank, Bank Simpanan Nasional, Bank Pertanian Malaysia and Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia with a minimum deposit of RM20.

Full withdrawal can be made when the beneficiary enters an institution of higher learning, stops schooling, is declared permanently disabled, dies or is terminally ill.

A target of 80,000 depositors has been set for the first year.

Earlier, Abdullah said the Government had provided assistance to those pursuing higher education through loans, scholarships and subsidising the cost of study in public universities.

“But parents, too, must take the initiative to plan their finances to ensure that their children do not lose the chance of obtaining higher education,” he said.

The high cost, he added, should not deter them from sending their children for higher education, and they should regard education as a long-term investment.

He said that in 2000, 25% of those between the ages of 17 and 23 pursued higher education and the figure increased to 29% last year, noting that more people were becoming aware of its importance.

“It is estimated that 40% of those in that age group in 2010 will be pursuing higher education, which also means that 1.6 million places will be needed at institutions of higher learning compared with only one million places last year,” he said.

At the event, six banks and KL Sentral/MRCB donated a total of RM220,000 to the scheme.

In conjunction with the launch, the SSPN adopted baby Maria Safiah, born at 1.36am at Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia yesterday to Berita Harian employee Shaifulizan Tamadi and Hasniza Ismail.

News Poll

Latest Jobs from Star-Jobs

Latest from StarProperty