Fresh attire: Tan inspecting a pinafore for her daughter (right) at a school uniform outlet in George Town. — CHAN BOON KAI/The Star
GEORGE TOWN: The RM150 government cash aid for every school-going child in the country has come at a perfect time for Lim Chin Wai.
The 45-year-old engineer, who has three children going to school in the new year, said it would cost him about RM300 to get uniforms and shoes for each child.He is glad that each of them would receive the aid without conditions.
“My children are going to Year Two, Year Five and Form Three.
“It will cost us around RM40 for a pair of school shoes and RM50 for the uniform.
“We usually get three sets of uniforms and a pair of shoes for each child. The latter have to be changed every year due to wear and tear.
“As for uniforms, we can reuse them if my kids have not outgrown their old sets,” he said when met at an outlet selling school uniforms along Datuk Keramat Road here.
Lim said other things that must be bought were new school bags and stationery.
“My children will reuse their old school bags and stationery when possible, but some of them are old and unusable, so we will have to get new ones,” he said.
Housewife Alicia Tan, 40, said the cash aid would go into buying new uniforms for her two daughters who are going to Year Three and Form Two, respectively.
“I usually get two sets of uniforms for my daughters every year, and it would usually cost between RM60 and RM70 per set.
“Since both of my daughters are growing up, they outgrow their uniforms every year,” she said, adding that her daughters did not necessarily need to change their school shoes and bags every year.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced the RM150 aid for every student from Year 1 to Form 5, regardless of their parents’ income.
The aid is expected to be disbursed by Jan 12.
Anwar also announced a special salary increment of RM100 for all civil servants from Grades 11 to 56.
Muhammad Shahrizul Muiz, 30, who is a special officer at the Penang government’s exco office, said that he expects to receive a total increment of RM325 this year.
“I am grateful for the increment because the cost of living has been on the rise lately.
“It will definitely lessen the burden on us.
“I hope the special increment will be included in Budget 2023,” he said.
Due to the lockdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic, school operations were disrupted, upending the conventional academic year.
For the first time in the country’s schooling history, Year One pupils will begin their new term in March 2023 instead of January.
The 2022/2023 school year began with close to three million primary school pupils attending face-to-face lessons.
However, Years Three, Four and Five pupils in schools with an enrolment of over 600 pupils attended classes on a rotational basis.
Secondary school students underwent home-based teaching and learning for the first two weeks before returning to face-to-face lessons without rotation starting from April 4, 2022.
Earlier, the Education Ministry said it would postpone the suggestion to revert the academic calendar back to January for the time being after considering the potential impact on stakeholders such as teachers.
The ministry said the move could only be done by gradually shortening the school holiday period from 2023 until 2026.
