Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announces a one-off RM150 aid for all students and increased funding for religious, Chinese, and Tamil schools nationwide.
PUTRAJAYA: The government has allocated RM800 million to provide a one-off Early Schooling Aid of RM150 to all students from Year One to Form Six this year.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said parents are required to be present at schools to receive the assistance.
“Parents must go to the school because they need to ensure the money is spent on their children,” he said during his New Year address at the Prime Minister’s Department monthly assembly.
He stated the condition was necessary due to the large allocation involved.
The Education Ministry announced that the BAP distribution will begin at schools as early as 11 January.
Anwar also said the government has agreed to allocate an immediate RM200 million to repair dilapidated Sekolah Agama Rakyat and tahfiz institutions this year.
He noted many SARs are in poor condition compared with other schools nationwide.
“Although they are not part of the national education system, more than 300,000 students are enrolled in SAR,” he said.
Anwar said JAKIM has been instructed to hold discussions to improve facilities and standards at these institutions.
The government has also agreed to increase allocations for Chinese national-type schools to RM80 million, up from RM50 million last year.
An allocation of RM50 million was announced for Tamil national-type schools.
“Although the number of SJKTs is smaller, some of these Tamil schools are also in dilapidated condition,” Anwar said.
