PETALING JAYA: It has been three years since discounts were offered to National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) borrowers, and they are happy with the potential savings.

       The government agreed to give discounts to PTPTN borrowers if they make payments from Nov 1 until April 30, said Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.

       He said borrowers would receive a 15% discount if they made a full settlement on their loans.

       “(There will be) a 12% discount for payments if at least 50% of the outstanding balance in a single payment (is made),” he said when tabling Budget 2022 yesterday.

       He also said there would be a 10% discount if repayments were made through salary deduction or direct debit as per schedule.

       Chow Shenn Kuan, 25, from Taiping, said she was happy to hear about the discounts and the savings she would get on her outstanding balance.

       Chow said she had been diligently repaying her study loan via salary deductions.

       Calling the 15% discount “a generous Malaysian Family offer”, she said she would, however, still continue paying via salary deductions as she did not have the funds to pay off in full.

       Masters student Ethan Ganes, 24, said he might opt for the 10% discount as he believed the full repayment discount was too low.

       “I don’t think many can afford to settle their loans upfront,” he added.

       Meanwhile, Blake Tan, 24, also said he might go for the 10% discount as soon as he got a job.

       “Any form of discounts would be extremely helpful, especially for those of us from the B40 bracket.

       “However, I don’t think many of us would be able to utilise the 15% and 12% loan repayment as we do not have the financial means to do so, which is why we had to take the loan,” he added.

       Tengku Zafrul also said RM450mil had been allocated to provide higher education students from the B40 group with mobile tablets.

       He said the PerantiSiswa Keluarga Malaysia initiative would benefit 600,000 students.

       Commenting on the initiative, Tunku Abdul Rahman Foundation senior executive (programme) Jinghann Hong said the digital tablet allocation was “a very encouraging piece of news”.

       “Even though universities have made a move back to physical classes, not all students are ready to return,” she said, adding that the delivery of the devices should be prioritised.

       “It also goes without saying that device donation must be paired with improving Internet infrastructure.”