PSD Sponsorship Programme Announced

Despite cutting off major overseas scholarships, the Public Service Department (PSD) has come up with a new sponsorship programme focusing on B40 and M40 families (B40: bottom 40% household income families; M40: Middle 40% income bracket families).

The new PSD sponsorship model was drafted based on four key thrusts:

• Merits and inclusivity
• Focus on the B40 group, M40 and the Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET)
• Development of Malaysia as an education hub
• Return on Investment (ROI)

Besides the B40 Dermasiswa programme and five other sponsorship schemes, the new model also requires students to sit for the Cambridge Online Test (COT) to evaluate the applicant's personality and tendencies.

The total of 6 sponsorship schemes are as below:

1. The Bursary Programme
   Only for 250 students with SPM 2015 9As+ and above, with the selection of recipients based on merit and inclusivity. Focused on the fields of clinical and health, engineering and technology, and science and social science. 
   This programme which was previously handled by the Education Ministry will now be Taken over by PSD on a one-off basis. This will be the last year of this programme. It will not be continued starting in the year 2017.
   A special briefing session with Bursary Programme 2013, 2014, and 2015 students will be held in the near future. The current students under the Bursary Programme are advised to check http://esilav2.jpa.gov.my/ or call 03-8885 3603 / 3777 / 3398 for more information.
    
2. The B40 Dermasiswa Programme 
   Will only be given to 1,000 students (under category B40) to pursue diploma studies in polytechnics, public universities, Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) and the Multimedia University (MMU) in the TVET field. 
    
3. The Local Undergraduate Programme 
   Online registration will be available online at http://esilav2.jpa.gov.my/ starting in May 2016. The registration is open to current student who has at least finished one semester in UNITEN, MMU, and UTP. Only 7,000 slots available.
    
4. The Special Engineering Programme to Japan, Korea, France and Germany
   200 applicants with outstanding SPM 2015 results will be sponsored for further studies to Japan, Korea, France, and Germany. The applicants must not be more than 19 years old (20 years old for Remove Class students) and took SPM in the year 2015 for the first time. The sponsorship included Foundation Programme in Malaysia and Bachelor Degree in the country mentioned.
    
5. The National Scholarship Programme 
   According to the name list provided by Lembaga Peperiksaan Malaysia, 20 of the best Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) 2015 holders will be sponsored to study at top universities worldwide (limited to a few courses selected by the government). The list is short by 30 compared to past years.
    
6. The Post-Bursary Programme 
   The sponsorship will be continued to be offered to 744 students under Bursary Program 2013/2014 to further their Bachelor Degree studies in Higher Institutions selected by the government.

In order to ensure a return on investment, all the sponsorships will be turned into loans except for the B40 Bursary Programme.

Below are the 4 conditions for discounts/exemptions for B40 Bursary Programme:

1. Graduates who will serve in the public service: the loans can be converted into full scholarships
2. Graduates who will work with government-linked companies: repay 25% of the loan amount
3. Graduates who will work in local private companies: repay 50% of the loan amount
4. Graduates who will work abroad: repay the full loan amount.

"For those who join the public service sector, they should serve within a certain period of time according to their field of work, for example within six to seven years for engineering and over 10 years for the medical field," a senior PSD officer said.

Overall, the JPA continues its sponsorship programme with and allocation of RM1.65 billion for 49,060 students, comprising 41,324 students locally and 7,736 students abroad.