KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob today announced an increase in allowances for students sponsored by Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas).
At the presentation of the Petronas Education Sponsorship Programme (PESP), Ismail Sabri announced increases in book and study material allowance from RM1,000 to RM1,500 for students sponsored by the national oil company who are pursuing their tertiary education in the country.
Petronas-sponsored students who are studying at universities abroad will also receive an additional RM500 in book and study material allowance.
"New groups of students who recently received their sponsorships under the PESP will receive an increase in onboarding allowance from RM4,500 to RM5,000," he said in his speech at the presentation of the PESP sponsorship ceremony.
The increase in both allowances, he said, will be of immediate effect and involve 2,267 students sponsored by Petronas.
"The decision to increase both allowances was made after taking into consideration the increasing costs of living.
"I hope all this assistance (allowances) will help alleviate the burden of students as well as their parents to ensure better futures for their children," he said.
He later presented the PESP sponsorships to students from across the country.
A total 600 outstanding Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) 2021 students were awarded with PESP.
This is the highest number of sponsorships awarded in a year by the company, with an investment value of more than RM340 million.
Present during the ceremony were Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad, Deputy Education Minister II Datuk Mohamad Alamin and Petronas chairman Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh.
Since 1975, more than 37,000 outstanding Malaysian students, including 1,720 who are currently in the programme, have benefitted from sponsorships valued at over RM3.5 billion.