SEREMBAN: Some 100,000 students from the B40 demographic are set to receive exercise books through the One Million Recycled Exercise Books Aid Programme, which involves schools under the Education Ministry.
Education director-general Azman Adnan revealed that initially, the programme will involve 2,060 schools, encapsulating all primary and secondary institutions in the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, and Melaka.
The primary goal of this initiative is to cultivate environmental consciousness and eco-friendliness among students, while alleviating the financial strain on the B40 group to meet their children's fundamental educational needs.
Azman outlined that the exercise book aid will encompass one million exercise books for 100,000 B40 students, each student receiving 10 exercise books.
This initiative targets 40 economically disadvantaged students in each school.
The announcement came during the launching of the One Million Recycled Exercise Books Aid Programme at SK Taman Seri Pagi on Monday (Feb 17).
In attendance were the state education director, Khalidah Omar, and the National Book Council of Malaysia director, Mohd Khair Ngadiron.
Mohd Khair further added that his team aims to distribute over two million recycled exercise books to all B40 students across the nation in the coming year.
He encouraged more individuals and companies to participate and contribute to the programme.
"Individuals and companies participating in this programme can receive up to a 10% tax relief, providing a cost-saving measure for the involved taxpayers," he stated.
The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project, based on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles, is managed by Perbadanan Kota Buku.
It supplies recycled paper-based exercise books in collaboration with the lead partner, the National Book Council of Malaysia (MBKM), and the main strategic partner, CP Integrated Sdn Bhd.
Mohd Khair concluded by stating that the exercise books are also being dispatched to selected B40 students in 44 chosen schools across Johor, Perlis, Penang, Perak, Kedah, and Kelantan.
A total of 18 local companies have made contributions to this project, including international company, CAS Paper Mill (Thailand), with a total sponsorship of RM650mil for one million exercise books. – Bernama
