By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, March 5: Every Sarawakian child enrolled in registered kindergartens and nurseries in the State will receive RM100 in registration fee assistance, starting this year.
According to a TVS news report, Sarawak Minister for Women, Childhood, and Community Wellbeing Development (KPWK), Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah, stated that this new initiative aims to ease the financial burden on parents by covering part of the registration fees.
“This assistance will be distributed through their respective Early Childhood Education Institutions (IPAKK),” she said after chairing the Sarawak Early Childhood Development Council meeting here yesterday (March 4).
Since 2019, the Sarawak government has been providing a one-off Special Annual Grant (GTK) of RM5,000 to all registered IPAKKs in the State.
Fatimah added that the GTK has been reviewed and will now be implemented through several targeted programmes amounting to RM2,500.
“These include professional development programmes for educators and caregivers, early childhood development initiatives such as the ‘Bersih Awal Bersih Akhir’ (BABA) hygiene programme, digitalisation of early childhood education and care, sign language learning, and the ‘Save for Golden Future’ programme to promote financial literacy and savings,” she explained.
Additionally, the Sarawak government has allocated RM2.5 million for the Early Childhood Education and Care Fee Subsidy initiative. This subsidy, which provides up to RM1,000 annually, is available to parents with a household income of RM7,000 and below.
“This initiative, introduced in 2023, is aimed at supporting children who are not eligible for the federal government’s nursery and kindergarten fee assistance programmes.
“It also ensures children are placed in registered nurseries or kindergartens, guaranteeing their safety and well-being while encouraging more women to participate in the workforce and contribute to family income,” she added.
TVS further reported that as of Dec 31, 2024, a total of 247 nurseries and 2,718 kindergartens had been registered in Sarawak, bringing the total number of IPAKK institutions to 2,965.
“For the record, in 2023, a total of 2,634 children from private kindergartens and nurseries benefited from this initiative, while the number increased to 3,175 in 2024,” TVS reported. — DayakDaily
