Sizeable RM373 million education funding for Sabah
Published on: Sunday, August 27, 2017
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah received one of the biggest allocations for education compared to other states."The Ministry channelled more than RM373 million through the Schooling Aid Allocation to 503,317 students this year," said Ministry Sec-Gen Datuk Seri Alias Ahmad (pic) at the State-level Education Ministry Roadshow, here, Saturday.The schooling aid is divided into three categories – general aid (for example co-curriculum fee) worth RM89 million, specific aid (for example 1Malaysia Food Supplementary Plan Aid and Sports Scholarship) totalling RM246 million, and one-off aid (for example 1Malaysia Early Schooling Special Aid and 1Malaysia Book Voucher) worth RM38 million.
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"These aid were provided to ensure students in 1,293 schools in Sabah could access better opportunity and quality education." Besides, Alias said, the Ministry has always been concerned over the safety of school buildings in the State."In the 11th Malaysia Plan, 43 new projects and 147 extended projects were approved with a total cost of RM3.79 billion. Of the figure, RM40 million was provided this year to repair 30 dilapidated schools in Sabah as announced by the Prime Minister when tabling the 2017 Budget."The Ministry noted that the number of dilapidated schools are more than 30 in the State.
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However, the repair depends on the approved allocation."We are committed to be more proactive to ensure the infrastructure and facilities in schools are conducive to complement the teaching and learning process," he said.
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Alias also disclosed there were 360 applications for secondary school teachers for the inter-state and inter-area transfers in June this year."Of this number, 57 were approved and the rest will be considered for the next session."It is hoped that this initiative will solve problems faced by teachers and the Ministry will continue to make any improvement to ensure the welfare of educators are not being side-lined."On the roadshow, Alias said it is one of the 'turun padang' initiatives by the Ministry with a focus to showcase the country's education excellence to the public.The two-day programme co-organised by the State Education Department also functioned as an effective platform for the people to submit any education-related enquiry to the relevant agencies.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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