Get varsity place first - Star

Sunday March 22, 2009

THOSE who are interested in applying for financial assistance to pursue postgraduate programmes must first secure a place in university.

“They must first apply and get a place in any of the country’s 20 public universities or one of these three institutions — Universiti Tenaga Nasional (Uniten), Multimedia University (MMU) or Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP),” said Higher Education Department director-general Prof Datuk Dr Radin Umar Radin Sohadi.

After being offered places, they could then apply for financial assistance, he added.

“We are meeting with representatives from the various universities to work out the details.”

A check with several public universities showed that applications to pursue masters or PhD programmes can be submitted directly, through the institutions’ websites.

In announcing the mini budget on March 10, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had said that the government would finance tuition fees and research grants of up to RM20,000 for every student pursuing a PhD, and RM10,000 for students pursuing a master’s programme, locally.

A total of 500 places for doctoral level programmes and 10,000 at masters level will be offered in public universities as well as at Uniten, MMU and UTP, he added.