AN increased allocation for laptops will not solve the problem of students not paying attention to lessons said the Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia (Page).

Its chairman Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said this is a far cry from what is needed considering students are little connected to online classes.

“There is (no) mention of teacher training (either) to ensure that effective online classes are conducted, too.

“There should instead be a budget to ensure SOP (standard operating procedure) are further tightened to encourage students to return to school,” she said.

The movement-restriction orders around the country have forced school closures, and students are now studying from home.

Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz announced today that the GLCs (government-linked companies) and GLICs (government-linked investment companies) will contribute RM150 million into the Tabung Cerdik.

This funding in the Budget 2021 will go towards providing laptops to 150,000 students in 500 schools as a pilot project supervised by Yayasan Hasanah.

On another matter, Noor Azimah said they were unhappy that no allocation was provided for the Dual Language Programme (DLP).

The DLP programme was introduced in 2016, whereby schools were allowed to choose either Bahasa Malaysian or English for the teaching and learning of science and maths.

The government continued the DLP programme after the number of schools on the DLP has increased to 2,291 this year compared to 377 during the pilot run in 2016.

Nonetheless, Page commended Putrajaya for helping to provide meals for students from families in the B40 group.

“We welcome the generosity of the government on basics such as food, milk and water for students as parents battle to keep their jobs and put food on the table,” Noor Azimah said.

Budget 2021 has included an allocation of RM420 million reserved for local milk producers.

This is to provide daily milk supply compared to the previous twice-a-week supply in the Supplementary Meal Plan for students from low-income families.

Aside from that, the rate for Financial Assistance for Children is increased from RM100 per child with a maximum of RM450 per family to RM150 ringgit per child aged seven years to 18 years, or RM200 ringgit per child aged six years and below with a maximum of RM1,000 ringgit per family.

This assistance is to aid with childcare and ensure nutritious food for good child growth. – November 6, 2020.