Whether first-class honours graduates are eligible for loan forgiveness from the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) depends not only on academic achievement but also on household income levels.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Zambry Abd Kadir explained that PTPTN uses the Department of Statistics Malaysia’s Household Income and Expenditure Survey as a benchmark to determine whether borrowers fall under the low-income B40 or middle-income M40 groups.
Under the current mechanism:
- Households earning less than RM5,860 per month are classified as B40.
- Households earning between RM5,860 and RM12,679 per month are classified as M40.
The minister made these remarks in a written reply to Segambut MP Wong Chen in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday. Wong had asked the ministry to clarify the criteria and mechanism PTPTN uses to classify beneficiaries under the first-class degree loan forgiveness scheme as either B40 or M40.
