RM2.5 BILLION TO UPGRADE SCHOOLS
It is part of the RM61.6 billion allocated for education
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KUALA LUMPUR news@nst.com.my
ALLOCATION given to the education sector proves that the government is committed to improving the quality of education, to be on par with developed countries.
Among others, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday announced an allocation of RM2.5 billion for two years to upgrade schools in poor condition, which number almost 2,000 nationwide.
In the 2018 Budget announcement, he said RM500 million would be allocated to needy schools in Peninsular Malaysia, while RM1 billion each would be given to upgrade schools in Sabah and Sarawak.
Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said the announcement was evidence of the government’s commitment towards upgrading the standard of education in the country.
This, he said, was a comprehensive move by the government to ensure that the rakyat, regardless of background or means, could receive quality education.
“The 2018 Budget can be deemed a comprehensive budget, especially with regards to the upgrading of dilapidated schools nationwide, including in Sabah and Sarawak.”
He said the 2018 Budget also touched on the advent of smart classrooms in 1,000 schools.
“This will definitely be good news to many, especially the students,” he said.
On higher education, the pressing issue of unemployment among public university graduates was also addressed in the Budget, as the government opened up more job opportunities for this group.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said the government was confident the number of unemployed graduates would be reduced via the continuation of the 1Malaysia Training Scheme and introduction of the Technical and Vocational Training master plan, announced yesterday.
He also lauded the 13.15 per cent increase of allocation to the higher education sector, compared with that of last year’s.
An additional RM400 million would also be provided for research grant and development to public universities, including a special allocation for Universiti Malaya to gain a spot in the Top 100 Universities in the World.
The universities were only allocated RM235 million in the previous budget.
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Vice-Chancellor Professor Datin Dr Aini Ideris said research was highly critical to research universities such as UPM, calling the allocation a blessing for the sector.
The 2018 Budget also saw RM90 million allocated for the MyBrain Programme, which is expected to benefit 10,600 students to further their studies at the Master’s and PhD levels.
This, Aini said, would allow Malaysian students to pursue their studies at higher levels.
According to Najib, the allocation for Malaysia’s education sector is two times more than that of other Asean countries, on average.
For 2018, RM61.6 billion is allocated for education.
For higher education, he said Malaysia was fast achieving its goals of being the regional higher education hub, with 134,000 foreign students on our shores.