The Malaysian Insight

NON-PROFIT public foundation Yayasan Tunku Abdul Rahman (YTAR), through its pre-university mentorship programme Closing The Gap (CTG), is making it easier for vulnerable students affected by the Covid-19 epidemic to obtain scholarships.

CTG supports Form 4 and Form 5 students in the B40 group through a mentorship programme to prepare for life post-SPM, while YTAR provides scholarships for “diamond in the rough” students.

CTG co-founder Ida Thien and YTAR marketing and partnerships executive Raenuga Indran told The Malaysian Insight they also seek to persuade tertiary students, who are on the brink of dropping out due to challenges posed by the pandemic, to stay in school.

The joint collaboration, initiated in 2019, has seen a four-fold increase in applications this year.

“We used to give out about 24 scholarships yearly, we have managed to double that to 48 scholarships during the epidemic.

“We have seen an increase by 3,000 applications this year as a result of the epidemic. In the past, we got about 1,000 applications on average.

“The epidemic affects not only students entering universities but also those struggling to stay on,” Raenuga said.

She added that the scholarships did not just include tuition fees but also allowances for internet connection, purchase of books and clothing.

YTAR has also included a RM5,000 professional development allowance for the Tunku Scholars to run upskilling workshops or community projects.

The aid is availalble to private and public university students.

“We have heard of students in their third year or final year of higher education, typically in the M40 category, being unable to afford private university fees.

“We are trying to encourage them to stay in university,” Thien said.

Thien reiterated that getting a higher education was vital for students to increase their employability and find jobs with good prospects for salary progression.

A report by Khazanah Research Institute indicated that B40 students with undergraduate qualifications are 4.6 times more likely to be upwardly mobile than those without.

“Though most of the scholarship applications still come from students in the Klang Valley, we are working to expand to all states in Malaysia.

“We are trying to penetrate into under-represented areas in West Malaysia, the Orang Asli communities and students with disabilities,” Raenuga said.

Sponsors and interested students can reach the organisation and find out more about the impact of the CTG initiative on its website. – September 24, 2021.