KUALA LUMPUR: The Education Ministry continues to receive the largest allocation of RM50.4b for 2021 Budget.
Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz in tabling the 2021 Budget said the allocation was equivalent to 15.6 per cent of the total government expenditure.
"For higher education, a total of RM14.4 billion will be allocated to the Higher Education Ministry. This includes RM50 million for infrastructure and equipment replacement in public universities," he said.
He said RM420 million would be allocated as part of the procurement for local milk producers to supply milk to students from low income families, an improvement to the government's Supplementary Meal Plan, which is currently available twice a week.
To ensure a conducive learning environment, he said a total of RM800 million will be provided for the maintenance and repair of government schools and government-aided schools.
"This allocation also includes the work of upgrading and building open halls or covered structures for students to assemble in a comfortable and safe place in government schools," he said.
In addition, he said RM725 million would be allocated to upgrade buildings and infrastructure in 50 dilapidated schools nationwide.
"For schools in rural Sabah and Sarawak, the government will implement 184 construction projects and install tube well water supply with a total project cost of RM120 million."
He also said RM45 million would be allocated to cater to the needs of special needs children in schools.
Meanwhile, a total of RM50 million would be allocated to improve internet connectivity in institutions of higher learning by upgrading the Malaysian Research and Education Network (MYREN) access line up to 10Gbps, he said.
Tengku Zafrul also announced that RM6 billion would be allocated as part of the initiatives to strengthen Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).
"To provide loans to 24,000 trainees to pursue TVET programmes in public and private skills training institutions, RM300 million is provided through the Skills Development Fund Corporation (PTPK), which is an increase of RM100 million from the previous year."
He also said the National Dual Training System Plus allowance would be increased from RM625 to RM1,000 to encourage more industry involvement in implementing TVET-based programmes.
"This initiative involves a total allocation of RM60 million and benefits 10,000 trainees," he said.
In addition, he said RM29 million would be allocated to implement TVET programmes under the Ministry of Higher Education, Islamic education and lifelong learning initiatives to 15,000 students in tahfiz institutions and pondok schools.
He also announced a tax relief of up to RM8,000 on net annual savings in Skim Simpanan Pendidikan Nasional (SSPN) to further encourage parents to save for their children's tertiary education of their children, which will take effect until the year of assessment 2022.