PTPTN brightens five schools in Penang through AKAR 2026 Tour programme
Tasek Gelugor: The AKAR (Creative Awards of Design Aspiration) Tour 2026 has visited five schools in Penang from Thursday to Saturday last week, with a total of 482 pupils benefiting from contributions under the National Education Savings Scheme (Simpan SSPN) worth RM100 each.
It involved Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Permatang Tok Mahat; SK Pengkalan Jaya; SK Tasek Gelugor; SK Lahar Yooi and SK Sungai Gelugor, with a total allocation of RM48,200.
Chairman of the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN), Datuk Seri Norliza Abdul Rahim, said the programme is in line with PTPTN’s aspiration to cultivate the habit of saving through Simpan SSPN, while also uncovering pupils’ creative talents and increasing awareness on the importance of financial planning for education from a young age.
“Initiatives like this are also believed to help shape a generation that is not only creative and competitive, but also responsible towards environmental sustainability.
“In this programme, PTPTN channels contributions into Simpan SSPN accounts, where each recipient receives RM100 as an encouragement to start the habit of saving and to prepare financially for higher education from an early age.
“At the same time, PTPTN also presented prizes to winners of the Colouring Competition in conjunction with the National Month, which were credited into each winner’s Simpan SSPN Prime account,” she said when speaking at the AKAR 2026 Tour programme at the five schools.
Also present were President of the KRU Foundation Board of Trustees, Datuk Norman Abdul Halim; PTPTN Chief Executive, Ahmad Dasuki Abdul Majid; Senior General Manager of PTPTN Corporate Communications and Marketing Department, Wan Zawiah Wan Abu Bakar; and Director of PTPTN Penang State Office, Muhammad Muhsin Abdul Rahman.
Norliza said, PTPTN is pleased to collaborate with its strategic partner, KRU Foundation, in making the AKAR 2026 Tour Programme a success, and also received support from the Ministry of Education (KPM), the Community Development Department (KEMAS) and the National Unity and Integration Department (JPNIN).
She said, the programme is not merely a colouring and drawing competition, but also a platform to build self-confidence, stimulate creative thinking and foster awareness on the importance of preserving the environment among pupils.
“The AKAR 2026 Tour programme runs from July 13 to September 25, 2026, involving 40 schools in 14 states nationwide,” she said.
Long-standing collaboration
Meanwhile, Norman said, he hopes the collaboration with PTPTN can be continued on a long-term basis to achieve the nation’s goals and aspirations.
“This AKAR programme serves as a foundation to discover new talents, particularly in drawing and colouring.
“We hope it will be continued next year and expanded to include song production, video production, short films, animation and so on,” he said.
He explained, a total of 175,000 pupils nationwide participated in the AKAR competition, which is organised to discover and nurture creative talent among the younger generation from an early age.
“This competition is open to pupils, especially at the preschool and Year One levels, as part of efforts to build children’s creativity foundation before they step into university.
“This is because we see that creativity needs to be nurtured from primary school level, given that developments in technology, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and other technologies are expected to change the employment landscape in the future.
“Although the use of AI generates content, it still requires creativity to produce that content,” he said.
Norliza with parents and pupils of SK Sungai Gelugor.
In a related development, Norliza said, education is the best investment for children’s future, therefore early financial planning is very important to ensure they have the opportunity to pursue higher education without being burdened by financial constraints.
In that regard, she said, the role of parents and guardians is very important in cultivating a saving culture and providing a strong financial foundation to ensure children can step into higher education institutions with more confidence and readiness.
“Through the Simpan SSPN product, PTPTN offers various privileges, including income tax relief of up to RM8,000 per year, free takaful protection for depositors, free Matching Grant of up to RM10,000 for eligible families, competitive dividend rates, government-guaranteed savings and shariah-compliant,” she said.
Berita Harian