KUCHING, March 18: Some 5,300 primary and secondary school students received new school supplies and personal hygiene kits from Yayasan Petronas under its Back To School 2022 (BTS 2022) programme.
Students each received a set of school uniform, a pair of black shoes, a classroom kit comprising a school bag, stationery, water bottle and lunch box; a hygiene kit containing a face mask, a hand towel, one set of sports attire, an activity notebook which incorporates lesson plans curated by Yayasan Petronas’ Program Duta Guru and a geometry set for secondary school students.
The BTS 2022 packs were delivered to 30 district education offices (PPDs) in Kuching, Bau, Lundu, Samarahan, Simunjan, Serian, Padawan, Sri Aman, Lubok Antu, Betong, Saratok, Sarikei, Maradong, Kanowit, Sibu, Selangau, Mukah, Dalat, Daro, Kapit, Song, Julau, Bintulu, Tatau/Sebauh, Subis, Belaga, Miri, Baram, Limbang and Lawas, to be distributed to selected students from 195 schools in Sarawak.
“This year, we are also reaching out to lower secondary school students for the first time since the BTS programme was launched in 2013. As a result, a total of 3,200 primary school students from 143 schools and 2,100 secondary school students from 52 schools in the State will soon receive the BTS 2022 items from Yayasan Petronas,” said Petronas Sarawak general manager Zulaihi Mantali during the launching of the BTS 2022 programme, here today.
More than 500,000 M40 households have fallen into the B40 category due to the Covid-19 pandemic. At the same time, the cost of school necessities has also increased.
“Thus, we believe that the lower secondary school students should also be assisted. We hope that our contributions will help ease the financial burden of parents and motivate the students to continue their studies,” he added.
This year, a total of 36,000 B40 students across Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Penang, Perak, Perlis, Putrajaya, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor and Terengganu will benefit from the BTS 2022 programme, which has started from mid-March and will run until April 2022.
The Back To School programme is part of Yayasan Petronas’ education focus area in line with the Petronas Sustainability Agenda and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. — DayakDaily
