KUCHING: The Sarawak government has disbursed a total of RM13.9 million in Sarawak Early Childhood Education Institution Special Grant to 1,164 preschools and kindergartens in the state as of Sept 26.
Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said all registered public and private institutions had already received a RM5,000 grant each.
“To date, 2,780 institutions have applied for the grant, and 1,164 have already received it,” she revealed during the State-level Preschool Carnival closing ceremony at Mydin, Petra Jaya yesterday.
According to Fatimah, some preschools and kindergartens still do not know about the grant.
“We encourage you (preschools and kindergartens) to come forward and apply for the grant because at the end of the day, it will benefit both teachers and the children,” she said.
Fatimah said the RM16 million approved this year was for purchasing learning materials, provide free balanced diet meals, organise educational programmes for both parents and children and also for the professional development of teachers.
On the Endowment Fund Sarawak (EFS), Fatimah said as of Aug 31, a total of 22,390 newborn Sarawakian babies were recorded. From this figure, 16,074 have applied for the EFS RM1,000 incentive.
