{
  "id": 10920420,
  "title": "BAeK PTPTN paves the way to higher education for underprivileged students",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/baek-ptptn-paves-the-way-to-higher-education-for-underprivileged-10920420",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-30T09:31:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/09/30/baek-ptptn-paves-the-way-to-higher-education-for-underprivileged-students"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The National Higher Education Fund Corporation's (PTPTN) eKasih Children's Scholarship, known as BAeK PTPTN, aims to alleviate the poverty cycle for underprivileged families. PTPTN chairman Norliza Abdul Rahim announced that socioeconomic background should not hinder children from asnaf and underprivileged families from pursuing higher education. She explained that PTPTN's scholarship program can help families break out of the poverty cycle by ensuring financial stability for children from less well-off backgrounds. Norliza emphasized that children from underprivileged families might be hesitant to continue their studies due to the pressure of taking out loans or selling land. With the BAeK PTPTN scholarship, these students can focus on their studies without worrying about repaying a loan after graduation. The scholarship reduces students' dependence on loans, allowing them to start working without the burden of repaying loans and thereby improving their family's living standards. The program encourages parents to cultivate a culture of saving for their children's education through the Simpan SSPN savings scheme, even with small monthly contributions. BAeK PTPTN provides targeted scholarships to full-time students pursuing diploma or bachelor's degree programs at approved public higher education institutions whose PTPTN loans were approved from January 2026. Recipients are chosen from families registered in the eKasih database based on specific requirements.",
  "summary": "BAeK PTPTN scholarship helps children from poor and underprivileged families pursue higher education without burdening their parents.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "BAeK PTPTN buka laluan anak keluarga memerlukan ke menara gading",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/baek-ptptn-buka-laluan-anak-keluarga-memerlukan-ke-menara-gading",
        "published": "2026-09-30T09:29:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}