By Ashley Sim
KUCHING, April 4: The salaries and rent of Sarawak Early Children Education Institutions (IPAKK) teachers will no longer be included in the special annual grant (GTK) as Sarawak moves towards the endemic phase, said Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah.
The Minister for Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development (KPWK) said this is due to the return of children to kindergartens (tadika) and nurseries (taska).
Initially, the grant was for free meals to ensure students’ physical development and growth, fun learning and interactive activities, the purchase of learning materials, parental involvement in children’s education and learning, and the professional development of teachers through lifelong learning.
“The State government has approved RM16 million annually (2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022) for the IPAKKs to be given to all registered tadika and taska. This grant will continue as approved by the Sarawak government.
“The GTK is an initiative provided under the ministry to assist all registered IPAKKs experiencing financial difficulties.
“It is also one of the ten initiatives that the ministry had reviewed for better implementation,” she said this afternoon during a press conference following a policy review on the ministry’s initiatives held at Bangunan Baitulmakmur II.
Fatimah went on to say that as Sarawak entered the endemic phase on April 1, the ministry hopes to accelerate the implementation of the ten initiatives.
She added that the ministry’s goal is for more than 90 per cent of the targeted group to receive assistance from the State government through her ministry.
The ten initiatives under the KPWK are Bantuan Ibu Bersalin (maternity assistance), Pembiayaan Caruman Minimum i-Suri, Endowment Fund Sarawak (EFS), GTK–IPAKK, Kenyalang Gold Card (KGC), Bantuan Ihsan Kematian (death compassionate assistance), Bantuan Khas Pesakit Buah Pinggang (special assistance for those suffering from kidney disease), Bantuan Perubatan (medical assistance), Geran Sukan OKU (grants for athletes with special needs), and Geran Pemerkasaan NGO (grants to empower non-governmental organisations). — DayakDaily
