Dept eyes higher enrolment in pre-schools under ministry

KUCHING: Sarawak Education Department is aiming to increase the number of enrolments at public and private pre- schools registered under the Education Ministry ( KPM) in the State.

As of Aug 20 this year, its deputy director Abang Mat Ali Abang Masagus said 94 per cent or 68,503 children aged five to six years in Sarawak are enrolled with preschools registered under the ministry.

Describing this percentage of enrolment as high, he said the KPM- certified places providing early education are pre- schools run by the ministry itself, Community Development

This does not include private pre-schools which are not registered with the Sarawak State Education Department.

Department ( Kemas) and National Unity and Integration Department ( JPNIN) or are private pre- schools supervised by the ministry.

“This does not include private pre- schools which are not registered with the Sarawak State Education Department,” he said at the launch of Sarawaklevel Running Kidz programme, an outreach programme to promote early education, at the department’s headquarters at Jalan Diplomatik here yesterday.

The Running Kidz programme is carried out nationwide from yesterday (Aug 25) to Aug 28 to increase awareness among parents and guardians of the importance of early education for their children. It is also aimed at encouraging parents and guardians to send children aged five to six years to public and private pre- schools registered under KPM.

A team called ‘Skuad Kenyalang’ are travelling 300 km by road across Sarawak where they will stop at 10 places of public interest or check points to hold roadshows and fun activities, distributing brochures to members of the public.

“It is hoped that the Running Kidz programme will achieve its objective. The convoy spanning 300 km will cover districts in the southern zone such as Kuching, Padawan, Samarahan, Serian and Sri Aman.

“This is led by the Private Education and Special Education Sector of the Sarawak State Education Department,” he said. He thanked the district education offices in Kuching, Padawan, Samarahan, Serian and Sri Aman for their assistance and expressed his appreciation to the police for helping ensure smooth running of the programme.

Abang Mat Ali Abang Masagus, Sarawak Education Department deputy director