546 Primary 1 pupils receive RM50 incentive
Education, as far as I’m concerned, is very important. I believe that being knowledgeable can help bring about changes to a person’s life.
KUCHING: Each of 546 Primary 1 pupils from 14 schools across the Batu Kawa state constituency has received the RM50 special incentive under the National Education Savings Scheme (SSPNi).
According to National Higher Education Fund Corporation ( PTPTN) Sarawak general manager Yussuf Chik, the pupils who have registered as ‘ Kawan PTPTN’ are also given an additional RM20 each.
The SSPN-i is one of the government’s efforts to encourage parents set up education savings for their children.
Moreover, PTPTN Sarawak presented the incentives to pupils from schools in three other areas – Jepak, Simunjan and Limbang – prior to coming to Batu Kawa, he added.
The handover yesterday was witnessed by Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Dr
Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian, Local Government and Housing Minister
Sim Kui Hian, who stressed the importance of education.
Dr Sim, who is Batu Kawa assemblyman, expressed his hope that the SSPN-i would help the children save enough funds by the time they would pursue tertiary education.
The minister related about a Sarawakian student, who was already accepted by a university in Peninsular Malaysia, approaching him for money to purchase air tickets.
He said it would be sad if the student missed out on the opportunity to pursue higher education just because he could not afford the airfare.
He believed that the student concerned was not an isolated case and as such, he hoped that the initiative would help many other primary schoolchildren to have enough savings upon pursuing tertiary education later on.“Education, as far as I’m concerned, is very important. I believe that being knowledgeable can help bring about changes to a person’s life,” he remarked.
Dr Sim later promised an incentive of RM50 each to all Primary 1 pupils in his constituency to promote the habit of savings among the children.