Higher Education Minister Idris Jusoh said the move had long been implemented to ensure the education fund could last and serve future generations.

He said if borrowers faced difficulty in making payments within the stipulated period, they could discuss with the PTPTN to reschedule the loans.

“Since yesterday, I have received more than 12 emails from borrowers, who claim they are facing problems with PTPTN.

“I have forwarded all the emails to PTPTN for further action, including investigating each case.”

Idris was speaking at a press conference after launching the National Conference on Lifelong Learning 2016 at Universiti Malaya (UM) here today.

The one-day conference was aimed at discussing and sharing information relating to lifelong learning programmes in order to produce more skilled personnel in the technical and vocational fields.

Yesterday, PTPTN said in a statement that it was always open to discussion with borrowers who faced difficulty in making payments.

Idris said each PTPTN borrower should also be responsible in paying back the loan as it was social justice to new students who wanted to take the same loans.

Meanwhile, commenting on reports that 150 Malaysian students in Egypt were facing difficulty paying their fees, which amounted to RM4.5 million, Idris said the ministry would make an official announcement on Thursday on the matter, including the actual number of students affected.

“The ministry’s delegation to Egypt returned to Malaysia yesterday.

“I will be getting the information on the actual number of students affected before taking further action,” he said.