PETALING JAYA: The Education Ministry retained its position as the ministry with the largest allocation under Budget 2027, receiving nearly RM69bil, up from RM66.2bil in Budget 2026.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also Finance Minister, said RM2bil would be allocated for repairs and maintenance of all types of schools.
This includes RM900mil for national schools (SK), RM100mil for national-type Chinese schools (SJKC), RM50mil for national-type Tamil schools (SJKT), and RM200mil for people's religious schools (Sekolah Agama Rakyat), tahfiz institutions and pondok schools registered under the Islamic Development Malaysia Department (Jakim).
In addition, nearly RM1.3bil has been allocated to upgrade 682 dilapidated schools, particularly in Sabah and Sarawak.
“Voluntary cash contributions from parents, alumni, and the community to the School Public Contributions Fund will qualify for tax deductions of up to 10% of aggregate income,” he said during the Budget 2027 tabling on Friday (Oct 9).
Anwar also announced that the government set aside RM1bil for Early Schooling Assistance, increasing it from RM150 to RM200 per student and benefiting 5.3 million students.
“This means a family with four children will receive RM800 to prepare for the 2027 school session,” Anwar said during the Budget 2027 tabling on Friday (Oct 9).
Other announcements include an RM870 million allocation for the Supplementary Food Programme for over 800,000 pupils.
The government has also agreed to provide a cost-of-living allowance of RM2,500 to Form Six students for the first time. The amount matches the allowance for matriculation students and will benefit 90,000 Form Six students, he said.
The monthly allowance for students with special educational needs has also been increased from RM150 to RM200, benefiting 150,000 students with special needs, including those with autism.
In addition, the monthly teaching incentive for special education teachers has been increased from RM250 to RM300, benefiting 20,000 teachers.
Two Permata Kurnia centres will be built in Melaka and Pahang to provide specialised education, support and training for autistic children.
More than 130 new Tunas Istimewa kindergarten classes will be opened in rural areas nationwide to provide more effective early intervention and guidance for autistic children from low-income families.
