KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 30 — The National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) collected an encouraging RM2.07 billion in repayments for 2019, exceeding its RM2 billion target.

Its chairman Wan Saiful Wan Jan said loan repayments had increased to 82.5 per cent as of Nov 30 this year with further increases expected until Dec 31, compared with 81.3 per cent recorded on Dec 31, 2018.  

In a statement issued today, he said a total of 172,863 students had been assisted with loans to further their studies, and 46 per cent of this number comprised students from families in the B40 (low-income) group.

The National Education Savings Scheme’s (SSPN) investments also saw a 25.9 per cent increase in dividends in 2019, compared with 2018.

At the same time, deposits into SSPN accounts increased by 18.7 per cent, from RM671.9 million last year to RM798 million this year, with the total amount of deposits standing at RM5.3 billion.

Wan Saiful added that until Nov 30 this year, 404,676 new SSPN accounts were opened, bringing the total number of SSPN accounts to 4.32 million, since the launch of the scheme in 2004.

Apart from retaining its MS ISO 9001:2015 certification, the corporation received a number of awards in 2019 including the ‘Social Media Excellence — Education Support’ award in conjunction with Malaysia Social Media Week (MSMW) and the ‘Top Direct Debit Merchant’ award in conjunction with the Malaysian e-Payments Excellence Awards (MEEA). — Bernama