KUALA LUMPUR: The MyBrain15 scholarship programme remains closed this year.
Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching said this is because the programme has not received assent from the Economic Planning Unit (EPU).
She said that it is also not feasible to reopen it yet due to the lack of stability in the nation's economy and finances.
“We did not issue any new offering for MyBrain15 as it has not received permission from the EPU and it is not offered this year.
“On whether we should continue this programme with the private sector, we wish to reiterate that the ministry is always open to collaborating with the private sector as that is our policy all this while,” she said at the Dewan Rakyat today.
She was answering a supplementary question from Datuk C Sivaraajh (BN MIC-Cameron Highlands) on whether the government would continue with the MyBrain15 programme this year and whether it was feasible to cooperate with the private sector.
Teo said that aside from the MyBrain15 programme, the ministry was also managing 14 other scholarship programmes with an allocation of RM250 million.
She said that the ministry does not want too much reliance on the MyBrain15 programme as they have other programmes that can assist students.
It was previously reported that the government postponed the MyBrain15 programme, which was created in 2008 to provide scholarships and create more PhD holders.
Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik previously said the programme had to be suspended due to large government debt, as well as being hampered by the country’s financial situation.