Malang City Government Distributes Scholarships for Underprivileged Students

The Malang City Government in East Java has distributed educational scholarship assistance to 551 high school and university students from underprivileged families for the 2026 fiscal year. Achmad Sholeh, Head of the People’s Welfare Division of the Malang City Regional Secretariat, stated that the scholarship assistance for hundreds of beneficiaries is disbursed every three months. “Scholarship disbursement is done quarterly; the initial distribution for early 2026 has been completed during the first three months. The breakdown of recipients is 210 high school students and 341 university students,” Sholeh said. The local government has allocated a budget of Rp6.3 billion to run the programme in 2026. Beneficiaries must be residents of Malang City, as evidenced by their family card, and they must have a track record of achievement, either in academic or non-academic fields. He noted that once students graduate, their data will be replaced with new names. He added that his office only has authority over the programme’s implementation for high school and tertiary education levels, while primary and junior high schools fall under the purview of the Malang City Education and Culture Office. “High school students receive Rp440,000, while university students receive Rp2 million,” he stated. Sholeh explained that the number of scholarship recipients this year is fewer compared to the 2025 period, which reached 582 individuals. The decrease in recipients is an adjustment to budget availability following cuts to regional transfer funds by the central government.