PETALING JAYA: The education sector has again received the biggest slice of the pie, with a total of RM70.7bil – RM55.6bil for the Education Ministry and RM15.1bil for the Higher Education Ministry.
The more than 5% increment from the total RM67.1bil last year is set to benefit students and parents, especially those from the B40 group.
Educationist and former Universiti Malaya professor Tan Sri Dr T. Marimuthu said the Budget would help students affected by the pandemic.
“Students will have a more conducive learning experience after their lessons were disrupted by the pandemic,” he said.
Acknowledging the increase in allocation for the Supplementary Food Programme (RMT) and Early Schooling Aid (BAP), Marimuthu said they addressed the needs of the B40 group.
National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general Fouzi Singon welcomed BAP’s increase to RM150 from RM100 for each student, regardless of the parents’ income limit.
“This shows that the government is very concerned about the readiness of students to face the new term of the 2023/2024 academic session,” he said.
Fouzi added that teachers would also benefit from the reduction in personal tax rate, which is being reduced by two percentage points on taxable income ranging from RM50,000 to RM100,000 for domiciled individuals.
Meanwhile, Melaka Action Group for Parents in Education (Magpie) chairman Mak Chee Kin felt that resources for BAP should be managed better.
“The question is whether we have the money to give to all? If yes by all means give to all. Otherwise, we should be more prudent,” he said.
Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia (PAGE) chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim was happy to see the increase in allocation for RMT.
The RMT spending has been raised from RM2.50 per pupil to RM3 for peninsular Malaysia and from RM3 to RM4 per pupil for Sabah and Sarawak.
RMT was introduced in 1979 to provide daily meals to poor pupils in schools.
Noor Azimah, however, felt money should have been set aside for improvements in teaching and teacher training.
She also stressed that more push should be given to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
The Budget also allocated RM1.2bil to upgrade dilapidated school buildings and infrastructure, especially in Sabah and Sarawak.
Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin said the ministry’s request for an increase in the RMT allocation was approved and would kick off this month to benefit 813,393 students.
Meanwhile, the enhancement of the BAP, he posted on social media, would benefit more than five million students.
“Last year, I visited SK Cyberjaya to monitor operations during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The school had 2,418 students and was bursting at its seams.
“We tried our best to get a new school built in the area. Today it was announced that a new school will be built in Cyberjaya,” he said, lauding the budget which will help address issues of poor infrastructure and dilapidated buildings, particularly in Sabah and Sarawak.
Next year, he said, RM1.1bil had been allocated for the restoration and maintenance of buildings under the ministry.
This would allow the ministry to provide a more conducive learning environment for students and teachers, he said.
