KUALA LUMPUR: The Early Schooling Aid (BAP) has been increased to RM200 from RM150 per student for the 2027 school session, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said 5.3 million students were eligible for the aid, involving an allocation of RM1bil.
"This means a family with four children will receive RM800 to prepare for the 2027 school session," he said when tabling Budget 2027, themed "Reaching for the Sky, Rooted in the Ground", in the Dewan Rakyat on Friday (Oct 9).
Anwar said the aid would be distributed directly at schools so parents could attend and meet the teachers, reflecting a shared responsibility for their children's academic progress and character development.
In addition, Anwar said the government had agreed to provide a living allowance of RM2,500 to Form Six students.
He said the rate matched the allowance for matriculation students and would benefit 90,000 Form Six students.
"An allocation of RM870mil has been provided for the Supplementary Food Programme (RMT), benefiting more than 800,000 pupils," he added.
Anwar also said teachers must return to their core duty of educating children without being burdened by clerical work.
To achieve this, he said the hiring of teaching assistants would be expanded to 200 high-density primary schools, and this would be increased in phases once its effectiveness was evaluated. – Bernama
