Bandar Kuching MP channels education aid to 36 students
KUCHING: Thirty-six students from the Bandar Kuching parliamentary constituency recently received aid under the ‘Tertiary Education Assistance Fund’ programme.
They represented this year’s first batch of beneficiaries, said Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii in a statement yesterday.
The Democratic Action Party (DAP) elected representative was represented by his special assistant George Lam at the presentation ceremony here yesterday.
“Due to my official duty in Kuala Lumpur, my special assistant has handed over the funds to the students on my behalf.
“Last year, my office distributed assistance to a total of 117 eligible beneficiary students from my constituency, with each receiving RM1,500,” said Dr Yii.
The MP said he had always emphasised on education since he was elected, with the bulk of the allocations for his constituency channelled towards education development.
“In addition to allocating funds to upgrade schools’ facilities, I am also concerned about the burden of students from needy families in furthering their education; hence, the establishment of this Tertiary Education Assistance Fund.
“We hope this small amount of funds could help reduce the financial burden on the students’ families, especially in light of the current inflation rate and the high cost of tertiary education,” he added.
According to Dr Yii, the Tertiary Education Assistance Fund is allocated once a year and students under his constituency can apply annually.
“However, this would still depend on the government’s annual allocation to the MPs. We will continue this initiative as long as government’s allocation is available,” he said.