MARA sponsors more than 62,000 students this year

KUALA LUMPUR: The Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) has sponsored more than 62,620 students to pursue studies in various fields, including 6,831 in learning institutions overseas.

Deputy Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Joseph Entulu Belaun said MARA had two sponsorship schemes for local and overseas studies, namely the outstanding student scheme and the open financing scheme.

"The condition or pre-requisite for students going overseas under the outstanding student scheme is to obtain excellent result in Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), participation in co-curriculum activities and to pass the interview.

"MARA will also evaluate in terms of the socio-economic status of the applicant's family," he said when winding-up the debate on the Supplementary Supply Bill (2010) 2010 in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He said sponsorship by MARA focused on critical areas like medicine, engineering, biotechnology, sanctuary science, accounts, management and administration and architecture.

On the delay in payment of the cost of living allowance for overseas students, he said, it happened because of the delay by students in submitting the necessary documents, including account books, to the MARA office.
"For overseas students, MARA will pay them in advance the cost of living allowance for six months, including for clothing, to help them prepare for a new life in a foreign land.

"To facilitate this, students are required to open a bank account in the country there are in and to submit a copy of the account book and some other documents to the MARA office for purpose of crediting the allowance," he added. - Bernama