Done survey. Loans/debts, regardless of what kind, need not have any sentiments associated with them. You received it, you pay it back.

Anyway people should treat taking loans for higher education like a taking a business loan.
Can I pay it back? Is the rate preferable? Will it open doors for me to actually earn enough to pay it back? Are there any places offering similar programs at a more affordable fees? etc.

That's why maturity and financial literacy is important in deciding your future paths, sadly some treat it like some sort of escalator system (no thanks to our education system)
and do not give them enough thoughts. How then would people be able to consider if something is worth it or not?

America for example is going through a turning point. There's an increase of women in higher education, but there's also more 'worthless' degrees like gender studies.
This kind of degrees brings very little to your future prospects, so alot of them gets saddled with debts that is honestly unnecessary.
The men however are now more inclined to not go into higher education but going into trade schools, which generally have a lower loan average but gives a better career prospect & earning capability.

Some degrees are absolutely necessary though, specifically for professional fields & some companies (typically MNCs) have them as part of requirements for managerial positions.

Oh wow, if it's as you say about the loan conversion, that sucks. I'm a JPA scholar myself, but since Malaysia couldn't provide employment for me, most of us got off scot-free. I do admit during my time as well I didn't pay much attention to it either because it was a full scholarship to attend public Uni in Malaysia, so in the off-chance I had to pay them back it's still within my means.

Though I guess I have a decent bit of awareness as I initially wanted to go to piloting school, but the program fee was quite high for my stomach back then (200k-ish). Eventhough my parents did say they're willing to partially fund it, I decided not to go through with it as I didn't want to put them on that spot. Tried to go for cadet pilot program under MAS, didn't pass on the 4th stage, so pursued other paths which is Mech. Engineering under JPA.

I believe the main problem today is the disconnect between what the industry wants vs what the education institutes can churn out. Because the grads produced are not according to market demands, it's harder to command a proportionate salary to the cost of getting the required degree. In a way Malaysia's academia kinda becomes a 'syok sendiri' place. Here's another piece of article on the market shifts in the US, where companies are now offering jobs with no degree requirements anymore:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/college-degree-job-requirement/
https://www.businessinsider.com/google-ibm-...nk-of-america-5
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/25/companies-e...ed-workers.html

Speaking from somebody who completed his professional degree, education is still very much important for me and I wouldn't change that even if given the chance.
However the market dictates what the market wants, and the payoff of a (non-professional) degree is looking to be lesser and lesser over time.
So if the choice is between a niche/less worthwhile degree & burdened by huge debt vs more general vocational license & less burdening debt, I say the choice can be quite clear.

p.s. Hard work, good ethics & common sense opens you more doors than any certs ever will, and that's free.