Malaysiakini:
The government saves RM240 million a year by cancelling 744 scholarships for overseas studies.
This is an average RM322,580.65 per student, a written parliamentary reply today revealed.
This far exceeds the cost of sponsoring a student for tertiary studies in Malaysia.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Azalina Othman in her written reply, said it costs up to RM12,690 to sponsor a student at a local varsity.
Overseas scholarships cost at least RM38,155 a year, depending on the course and country, she said.
There was wide public outcry following media reports that the Public Service Department was cutting overseas scholarships.
![Biasiswa JPA KPM Bursary Scholarships Biasiswa JPA KPM Bursary Scholarships](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_fJVyxFvL-dHIhx8XUt1gekH1oUksM4-ZWQKO2PC4T2lL4lrMIKfrdhlS3s0ycwMJ_CzgbQgCp2yaR9kod-GkQlriXPNPeTLGeI6ef-uD8lUHu6geS0f0Acv-f0ql2NjPqoswLjRx4oM/s640/Biasiswa+JPA+KPM+Bursary+Scholarships.jpg) |
Biasiswa JPA KPM Bursary Scholarships |
The critic made an obvious yet overlooked point on why this cancellation of KPM Bursary is such a big deal:
Critics of the move said it widely affects non-bumiputera students who cannot afford to self-fund their studies at top universities abroad, while bumiputera students can still seek funding from agencies like Mara.