Students from low-income families have been encouraged not to turn down opportunities to pursue higher education at the Kelantan branch of Universiti Teknologi MARA, as a wide range of financial aid and welfare support is available to help ease the cost of studying.
UiTM Kelantan Deputy Rector for Student Affairs, Meer Zhar Farouk Amir Razli, said many students mistakenly believe that higher education is beyond their reach due to financial constraints, despite the university offering various forms of assistance.
According to him, students are not solely dependent on loans from the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN), as additional support is available through zakat assistance, welfare funds and the university’s “Dapur Madani” initiative.
The programme, which operates at student residential colleges, is designed to help students manage daily living expenses and reduce financial pressures throughout their academic journey.
Meer Zhar urged students and parents to obtain accurate information regarding available aid before making the difficult decision to decline a university offer.
“With competition for places in public universities becoming increasingly intense, students should make full use of the opportunities offered to them,” he said during the recent UiTM Kelantan Branch Rector’s Cakna Programme.
He explained that the outreach programme was organised in collaboration with local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to identify and support newly enrolled students facing financial hardships.
As part of the initiative, Meer Zhar personally presented a laptop to 19-year-old student Norzarra Dhania Amir Abdullah at her home in Jalan Kebun Sultan to assist with her preparations for the upcoming semester beginning in September.
Norzarra Dhania, the eldest of seven siblings, shared her emotional journey of overcoming financial obstacles in pursuit of higher education. She revealed that she had previously received an offer to study at UiTM Sarawak last year but was forced to decline due to her family’s financial situation.
Her family relies entirely on the income earned by her mother, who works as a restaurant assistant, after her father became seriously ill four years ago.
Despite the setbacks, Norzarra said she never gave up on her dream of furthering her studies.
“My dream of continuing my education never faded. Alhamdulillah, this time I received an offer from UiTM Kelantan, which is much closer to my family and helps reduce our expenses,” she said.
Norzarra will begin her studies in a Diploma in Management programme this September, marking the start of a new chapter after years of financial challenges.
The university hopes stories like hers will inspire other students from disadvantaged backgrounds to seize educational opportunities and explore the support available before deciding to walk away from their academic ambitions.
