Salary cut to make defaulters pay up

FIVE of my former classmates went to Australia for tertiary education in the late 1960s. Three of them completed their course on time but two took two more years before they graduated. The latter were from wealthy families while the former were from middle income families and had to study very hard as they could not afford to prolong their stay in Australia.

Therefore, when tertiary education is free, students may be complacent and take longer to complete their studies and some may not even graduate.

Getting loans from the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) is an effective and good way to help students to pursue tertiary education. The problem is getting the borrowers to repay their loans.

In Australia, students are allowed to pursue tertiary education without paying any fees but their salary would be deducted when they start working. Deductions would only be made by their employers when their salaries are above a certain level, and the amount deducted would increase in proportion with their increments.

Despite the various incentives given by PTPTN, and in spite of listing names of the defaulters in CCRIS and barring them from travelling overseas, there are still large amounts of loans unpaid. It is hoped that the Government would take steps to make it mandatory for employers to make deductions from the salary of employees who owe PTPTN. This will ensure that funds would continue to be available for students from poor families to pursue their tertiary education. THOMAS FOO Subang Jaya