TEMERLOH, Aug 8 (Bernama) -- The government provides 90 per cent of higher education financing, making Malaysia the only country allocating a huge amount of money to education, said Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.

He said the subsidy also included providing students with scholarships to pursue higher education abroad.

"In fact, students at tertiary level paid only 10 per cent of the cost of education," he told reporters after handing over advance financing from the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) to 832 students from the Temerloh parliamentary constituency here today.

Saifuddin, who is also Member of Parliament for Temerloh, said this showed the government's resolve in promoting education to produce more knowledgeable people.

"So far PTPTN has given out RM44 billion in loans and scholarships to about 1.94 million students from various races," he said.