NIBONG TEBAL: The Early Schooling Assistance of RM150 per student must be paid in full to parents, with no deductions, for their children's school preparation.
Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said any other payments, including Parent-Teacher Association fees, must be settled separately and must not be deducted from the BAP.
"This RM150 is allocated by the government specifically for school preparation. Therefore, it must be handed over in full.
"If parents receive even 10 sen less, or an amount short by even a cent, they must inform us (the Ministry of Education) because the assistance cannot be reduced," she told reporters after attending the Penang state-level Early Schooling Assistance 2026 cheque handover ceremony at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah here on Tuesday (Jan 13).
Fadhlina said the government had allocated more than RM800mil to implement the aid this year, benefiting about 5.2 million students from Year One to Form Six nationwide.
She added that the distribution of the assistance had so far proceeded smoothly, with most parents collecting the aid during the first week of the school session, as many had taken leave to send their children to school.
The Nibong Tebal Member of Parliament expressed hope that the distribution could be completed by this week, as most of the more than 10,000 schools involved had already received the allocations for immediate disbursement.
In a separate development, Fadhlina said the Education Ministry would ensure that all stakeholders, including parents, sign the Student Protection Policy at schools by next week at the latest.
She said the policy addresses issues such as bullying, sexual harassment, abuse and students' mental health.
On Monday (Jan 12), Fadhlina reaffirmed the ministry's commitment to tackling bullying in schools.
Meanwhile, she said the ministry would investigate parents' complaints about inconsistencies in the boarding school application system and seek additional information to conduct a thorough review.
Earlier, Fadhlina handed over Early Schooling Assistance totalling more than RM34mil, benefiting over 227,000 primary and secondary school students in Penang. – Bernama
