PETALING JAYA: The National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) has signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with Yayasan Waqaf Malaysia (YWM) to ensure that the implementation of a waqaf fund benefits the global ummah.
As part of its efforts to diversify funding sources for higher education financing, PTPTN will establish a waqaf fund alongside its existing education loans.
PTPTN chairman Datuk Norliza Abdul Rahim said through the MoA, PTPTN and YWM were committed to collaborating for the implementation of the educational endowment.
She said both agencies had agreed to execute the PTPTN-YWM education cash endowment cooperation, aimed at transforming PTPTN into an endowment institution that allows stakeholders to contribute to higher education funding in the country.
"This endowment fund serves as a wealth redistribution instrument for national educational development among students through alternative forms of educational assistance in the form of scholarships, namely the PTPTN cash endowment.
"This MoA is expected to reduce society's dependence on education loans, simultaneously reducing the burden of loan repayment and debt for students," she said at the 2024 intellectual discourse programme on education waqaf.
She expressed hope that the initiative would receive strong support from communities nationwide.
"On behalf of PTPTN, I also hope that when this educational endowment is launched, it will receive encouraging response from corporate companies, financial institutions, government and private agencies, as well as customers, to implement charitable deeds through educational endowments.
"I believe this educational endowment will boost students' motivation to pursue higher education and, at the same time, contribute to the development of the country's human capital."
Most importantly, Norliza said the effort could also reduce PTPTN's dependency on the government as a source of long-term financing.
"PTPTN, as the leading national higher education fund, supports the mission to strengthen savings practices. Comprehensive support from various parties is crucial to enabling PTPTN to continue to stand proudly as a respected savings institution," she added.
The MoA was signed and exchanged by PTPTN chief executive Ahmad Dasuki Abdul Majid and YWM chief executive officer Dr Ridzwan Bakar, and witnessed by Norliza.
Also held at the event were discourses aimed at enhancing understanding and awareness of the importance of waqaf.