The National Higher Education Fund Corporation, Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional (PTPTN), has set aside RM210 million under the Biasiswa Anak eKasih (BAeK PTPTN) initiative, which will benefit 10,000 students from low-income and extremely poor households nationwide.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir said the expanded allocation represents a substantial increase from the initial RM120 million provided for 5,800 students, as announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during Budget 2026.
He said the revision, introduced under the Malaysian Higher Education Plan (RPTM) 2026–2035, underscores the government’s continued push to widen access to higher education for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. He added that eligible recipients must be registered under the national poverty database eKasih and be enrolled full-time in diploma or bachelor’s degree programmes at public higher education institutions from 1 January onwards.
He also urged the public and universities to notify PTPTN if they identify students who meet the criteria but have not yet been included in the programme.
According to PTPTN Chairman Datuk Seri Norliza Abdul Rahim, the scheme has already reached 402 students nationwide as of 31 May, with total disbursements amounting to RM8.79 million since its introduction earlier this year. The scholarship is targeted at Malaysian students aged 25 and below at the time of application, enrolled in PTPTN-registered courses, holding an active Simpan SSPN account, free of loan arrears, and with at least one semester remaining in their studies.
Applications must be submitted through the myPTPTN system, where loan applications are first processed before candidates are assessed for BAeK eligibility.
Successful applicants will be notified via email and in-app alerts and are required to submit acceptance documents at PTPTN counters within 14 days of receiving their offer letter. The assistance is paid out on a semester basis, with annual support set at RM4,750 for diploma students, RM6,180 for bachelor’s degrees in arts, and RM6,650 for science-based programmes.
The announcement came alongside a handover ceremony in Kulai, where two recipients shared how the support is expected to ease financial pressure and allow them to focus more fully on their studies. One recipient, Alin Nairien Wong, a diploma student at Politeknik Ibrahim Sultan, said the assistance would help ease the burden on her family following the death of her father in 2019, adding that it has given her renewed motivation to continue her studies.
Another recipient, Muhammad Amar Khoo Arif Khoo, a cybersecurity undergraduate at Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, expressed appreciation for the support, saying it would reduce the financial strain on his father in supporting both his studies and his siblings.
The BAeK PTPTN rollout will continue next week, with two further recipients from Melaka set to receive their awards.
