Feb 26, 2018
Accessible education for everyone
Education
One of the pain points to befall Malaysians in their pursuit of higher education is usually the high cost of tertiary knowledge. For some students that hail from lower-income families, this rings truer than most. That was essentially how the Tenaga Nasional Foundation (Yayasan Tenaga Nasional - YTN) was established in 1993 – to offer bright young Malaysians with the opportunity to pursue a brighter future through higher education.
The foundation offers financial help for tertiary education in the form of scholarships for selected foreign universities, and public universities in Malaysia including Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN). In 2017 alone, the foundation disbursed RM55.78 million to assist 1,963 Malaysians with financing their education.
For those interested in pursuing an education locally, all you have to do is apply at UNITEN, where you can pursue two ways of funded entry. The first would be under a Scholarship for any of the courses available at UNITEN. The second, is through applying for Variable Loans that are also available for all UNITEN courses. The advantage to the latter option is that students who do well in the route of pursuing their Diploma or Degree, can convert their loan to a scholarship by maintaining consistent results every semester.
If you have your sights set on an international education, you can submit an application for the university and course of your choice during advertised periods. Students that meet the necessary requirements and pass the multi-layered application process will earn their spot as a YTN scholar.
Aside from making education more accessible for all, YTN is also dedicated to helping the youth of Malaysia develop and grow personally. YTN routinely organises student development programmes such as the Program Mutiara Timur – PMT (Eastern Pearl Programme) and Kem Remaja Bestari (Bright Youth Camp), while continuously engaging with universities and relevant authorities. On top of receiving a sponsored education, YTN scholars also enjoy access to training sessions like the ‘Nurturing Future Leaders’ programme and other essential life-skills related workshops.
The extent of YTN’s commitment in ensuring bright Malaysians have the means to pursue better futures is apparent by the consistent increase in funding disbursed. Since its inception, the foundation has helped over 11,000 deserving students to achieve their dreams, thanks to funds that exceed RM1 billion to date.