The Higher Education Ministry, through Yayasan Perkasa Siswa, takes a holistic approach to managing and coordinating matters of student empowerment, welfare and well-being involving institutions of higher education. — 123RF.com
PUTRAJAYA: A student’s educational journey in pursuit of higher education is often fraught with challenges, from financial constraints and academic pressures to balancing personal and professional commitments.
These obstacles can hinder their ability to excel and reach their full potential.
Providing robust support systems is crucial in helping students navigate these difficulties, enabling them to thrive academically and personally, and grow into capable professionals who can contribute meaningfully to society.
The Higher Education Ministry, through Yayasan Perkasa Siswa (YPS), recognises this need to support students on their educational journeys as it takes a holistic approach to managing and coordinating matters of student empowerment, welfare and well-being involving institutions of higher education (IPT).
The foundation works with the government, private sector, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), government-linked companies, IPTs and individuals, to generate and distribute financial aid in an orderly, systematic, transparent and comprehensive manner.
Higher Education Department student affairs division director and Yayasan Perkasa Siswa chief executive officer Hirman Awang says that the foundation was first formed upon the suggestion of the National Student Consultative Council (MPPK) during a meeting with the Prime Minister.
“The unique thing about our foundation is that it was aspired by the students themselves,” he says.
“They suggested establishing a national body that focuses on student welfare because they generally did not know where to seek help or aid, other than their respective institutions’ student affairs or student body councils.
“Yayasan Perkasa Siswa was established to bridge the gap between students and any form of aid they require,” says Higher Education Department student affairs division director and Yayasan Perkasa Siswa chief executive officer Hirman Awang. —LOW LAY PHON/The Star
“When these bodies aren’t able to provide sufficient or adequate support, the students are then left in limbo. This is why we were established, to bridge the gap between students and any form of aid they require.”
He adds that, after this meeting, YPS was initially formed as Yayasan Kebajikan Siswa Keluarga Malaysia in 2021, before being rebranded last year.
“In the past few years, we realised that students not only need to be supported in terms of their welfare but also need to be empowered through specific development programmes, to produce holistic students.
“This is why we now oversee and organise various empowerment programmes, as well as student welfare and well-being initiatives.”
Promoting student empowerment
Hirman shares that YPS’ role is to be the “problem-solver, saviour and donor” for students.
“Our objective is to unite all matters related to empowerment, welfare and well-being of students to develop individuals who not only excel academically but also in human intelligence, problem-solving and creative innovation in addressing societal issues.
“YPS also works with relative student bodies in each IPT to channel allocations and funds to support and realise the objectives that generate and foster student empowerment.”
He explains that YPS actualises this support in terms of empowerment in two focus areas – student development and community service.
Under the student development arm, YPS empowers students in four key areas including leadership, internationalisation, entrepreneurship and volunteerism.
Community service, on the other hand, focuses on aspects such as service learning and knowledge sharing, which invigorates students to use their knowledge and skills to help out those in need and create tangible benefits for surrounding communities.
“These focus areas of empowerment help to make students more autonomous in their endeavours as they will be able to organise programmes or activities, fund student-established businesses – on and off-campus – and cultivate essential values,” says Hirman.
In terms of student welfare and well-being, the foundation also supports students via donations and financial aid in various forms such as Natural Disaster Aid, Accident Aid, Medical Aid, Death Benefit Aid, Educational Aid, Care4U Aid, Care4OKU Aid, Food@Campus Aid and One-Off Financial Aid.
Hirman adds that the main benefits of these financial aids are that they cover a wide range of potential issues students could face and can provide support for students and their families in a timely manner.
“The speed of aid is the key factor.
“In normal circumstances, students and their families have to go through lengthy application processes that require more time to be approved,” he says.
“This isn’t ideal, especially in emergency situations, which is why we ensure that they can receive direct financial assistance from us within a day of their application.
“Our job is to use all the resources available to us to help as many students as we can.”
Collaboration with strategic partners
Hirman states that YPS is able to support and empower students thanks to its numerous strategic partners.“All IPTs across the country, both public and private, are our strategic partners in realising our goals of empowering students and protecting their welfare and well-being,” he says.
He elaborates that apart from IPTs, YPS also has a number of strategic corporate partners that provide multiple benefits for students.
These partners include RHB Islamic Bank Bhd, telecommunication company OneXOX and insurance technology company GMAT.
“With the help of our strategic corporate partners, students can open accounts for free with RHB, with no additional charges or deposits and get a Student Matrix Card, which comes along with numerous benefits.
“With OneXOX students can get 5G access by subscribing to the MySiswa postpaid plan at a cheaper rate.
“Lastly, our collaboration with GMAT allows students to easily renew their insurance online, for both personal and vehicle insurance,” says Hirman.
Expanding scope of support
Hirman notes that they are grateful and blessed to have a team of visionary and passionate board of trustees, who always put student welfare and well-being first while ensuring a holistic approach to student development.
“We are also thankful to the Higher Education Minister, who is the chair of the Board of Trustees for YPS. The presence of Higher Education Ministry’s secretary-general, Higher Education director-general and Polytechnics and Community Colleges director-general on the board further strengthens YPS’s ability to move forward robustly to achieve its objectives,” he says.
With a total of more than 1.2 million higher education students across the country, Hirman suggests that more collaboration is needed with external partners so that the foundation can benefit as many students as possible.
To date, YPS has provided grants and financial aid amounting to RM4mil in taking care of student welfare. This year alone, the foundation has distributed close to RM1mil, with over 100 programmes organised and 10,000 student beneficiaries.
“Despite our efforts, we can’t help every student in the country, with the limited resources available.
“This is why we welcome any potential partners to collaborate with us so that we can provide more support.
“If we have more funds, the amount that we can contribute in aid will grow and we can benefit more students,” he says.
For more information, visit perkasasiswa.my
