Shah alam: The government will introduce new guidelines to standardise the awarding of First Class degrees across all higher education institutions (IPTs) in the country, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir said. He stated that the initiative aims to ensure a uniform assessment standard between public and private higher education institutions, particularly concerning the exemption of National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loan repayments for graduates who achieve First Class degrees.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Zambry highlighted that a significant challenge is the government's financial constraints, with annual expenditure for such exemptions exceeding RM300 million. He mentioned that previously, the government focused on implementing these standards at public higher education institutions (IPTA) initially and might consider extending them to state higher education institutions and government-linked companies before applying them to private institutions (IPTS).

Zambry also addressed the issue of varying standards in awarding First Class degrees between institutions. He emphasized the need for a fair system that does not create a perception of discrepancies in the difficulty of obtaining such degrees across different institutions. This announcement was made during the Student Outcome Laboratory and Dialogue: Malaysia Higher Education Blueprint programme organized by the National Students' Representative Council at Universiti Teknologi MARA, attended by 1,000 student leaders from various educational institutions.

He further instructed the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) to conduct a thorough evaluation to prevent any discrimination against IPTS students, including those from low-income backgrounds who excel academically. Meanwhile, MQA chief executive officer Prof Datuk Dr Mohammad Shatar Sabran stated that the agency will release specific guidelines to align the criteria for First Class degrees across all institutions, which is expected to be tabled at the MQA Council Meeting in May before being submitted to the Higher Education Ministry.

Previously, during the Budget 2026 announcement, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim approved the exemption of PTPTN loan repayments for students who obtain First Class Honours bachelor's degrees at IPTA from low- and middle-income families, benefiting nearly 6,000 borrowers with an annual allocation of RM90 million.