Johor education and information committee chairman Aznan Tamin (middle, in white) handing over a school bag to a student during the officiating ceremony of the ‘Bantuan Kasih Murid Johor’ (BKMJ) programme at UTC Pasir Gudang.
JOHOR BARU: About 11,200 students in Johor will get an extra RM150 to RM200 each to buy stationery, clothes and books for the 2024 school term that begins next week.
This is on top of the RM150 in aid that they have each received from the Federal Government’s Early Schooling Aid (BAP) programme.
The extra aid is thanks to a RM28mil allocation from the Johor government under the Bantuan Kasih Murid Johor (BKMJ) programme, said state education and information committee chairman Aznan Tamin.
“This is additional aid from the state government on top of the RM78mil from the Federal Government to Johor for the BAP that has been distributed to 523,000 students in the state,” he said when announcing the BKMJ at UTC Pasir Gudang yesterday.
“As for BKMJ, it will be distributed from March 3 to 7 to all 56 state assemblymen,” Aznan said, adding that each assemblyman would be getting RM50,000 to help students from B40 families in their area.
“The 11,200 students we identified are those from hardcore poor families in Johor who 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 would be given in the form of cash or school supplies.Aznan urged parents not to misuse the aid and to prioritise helping their children prepare for school.
The one-off BAP cash aid of RM150 has been disbursed through schools and distributed to students in cash or credited to their parents’ accounts.
Students from households with a monthly income of RM3,000 and below are eligible for the BAP.
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.
Aznan said the state had also received 1,370 new teachers from the Education Ministry – 592 for primary schools and 778 for secondary schools.
