Endowment Fund now covers 21,283 newborn babies

KUCHING: A total of the 21,283 newborn babies in Sarawak have registered for the Endowment Fund Sarawak (EFS), says Minister of Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah.

This represents a registration rate of 75.6 per cent for EFS.

The figure is derived from the total 28,152 babies born in Sarawak as at October this year.

Fatimah points out that based on the ministry’s survey, Sri Aman has recorded the highest registration rate for EFS at 98.35 per cent, with Sarikei and Serian registering 85.57 per cent ad 84.82 per cent, respectively.

However, the lowest registration rate is recorded in Bintulu at 49.80 per cent, while Kapit and Miri have recorded 67.29 per cent at 72.28 per cent, respectively.

“To encourage registration among parents, the ministry have organised and run 26 roadshows across all 11 divisions in Sarawak.”

Separately, Fatimah said her ministry would set up a One-Stop Early Intervention Centre at Metro City along Jalan Matang here, which would provide diagnosis, intervention and rehabilitation programmes to children with autism, Downs’ Syndrome and learning difficulties – aged seven and below.

The one-stop centre would be administered by the Society for Parents of Children with Special Needs and it should be operational by January next year.

Fatimah said to improve access to early childhood education in the interiors of Sarawak, five ‘Penan Community Kindergartens’ would be built each in Long Leng, Long Kawa, Long Kerangan, Long Jenalong and Ba’ Selulong.

These preschools would be operation beginning next year.

“The ministry’s mission is to guarantee 100 per cent access to early education for children residing the interiors of Sarawak, by 2030.”

Based on the statistics compiled by Sarawak Education Department, 97.41 per cent or 40,015 children from the 41,078 studying in government and private schools had completed early childhood education.