PASIR GUDANG: A total of RM2.8mil has been allocated by the Johor government to help 11,200 school students prepare for the coming school session on March 10.
Johor education and information committee chairman Aznan Tamin said the aid is given under the "Bantuan Kasih Murid Johor (BKMJ)" programme and has been distributed to all 56 state assemblymen.
“This is an additional aid from the state government on top of the Bantuan Awal Persekolahan (BAP) cash assistance from the Education Ministry.
“For BAP, Johor has received RM78mil from the Federal Government, which has been distributed to 523,000 students in the state.
“As for BKMJ, the distribution will start from March 3 until March 7,” he said when met by reporters after the launch of the BKMJ at UTC Pasir Gudang, here on Sunday (March 3).
Aznan explained that each assemblyman will be getting RM50,000 to help students from the lower B40 families in their area.
“The 11,200 students we identify are those from the hard-core poor families in Johor that really need this help.
“Each of them will be receiving between RM150 and RM200 from their assemblyman, depending on their needs,” he said, adding that the aid will be given in the form of cash or school necessities.
Aznan also hopes that parents will not misuse the aid given to them and prioritise the given help to prepare their children for school and ensure that they can learn comfortably.
The Education Ministry’s academic calendar for 2024 shows that schools in Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu will begin on March 10, while those in other states will start on March 11.
The one-off RM150 BAP cash aid has been disbursed through schools and distributed to students in cash or credit to their respective accounts.
Students from households with a monthly income of RM3,000 and below are eligible for the BAP.
