PAHANG GOVERNMENT INCREASES BPP STUDENT AID TO RM14.18 MLN

LIPIS, Nov 22 (Bernama) -- The Pahang government has increased its Bantuan Prihatin Pahang (BPP) Student Cluster for this year to RM14.18 million compared to RM8 million last year to ease the burden and help cover the expenses of students at institutions of higher education (IPT).

Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail said the RM6.18 million increase is to enable the allocation to be distributed to 19,525 students from public IPT, polytechnics, community colleges and state-owned private higher education institutions.

“(With the increase), the contribution to students will also rise from RM300 to RM400 for each student. As of November 2024, over 16,000 students have received the BPP through distribution in universities and the State Assembly.

“The state government has spent about RM6 million for contributions to students as of this month,” he said in his speech at the presentation of the BPP Pahang Agriculture, Veterinary and Fisheries Cluster as well as the Student Cluster here today.

He said the BPP, comprising the Agriculture, Veterinary and Fisheries Cluster and Student Cluster, is a state government initiative introduced in 2020 and continued until now, providing significant benefits to the people of Pahang. 

According to him, the state government has, until 2024, spent RM141.78 million to implement various programmes under the BPP initiative and this clearly shows the Pahang government’s sound financial position that it can sustain such assistance.

Meanwhile, he said the state government never marginalised the Orang Asli in their right to education and has provided them with equal opportunities, including in robotics, to compete at both national and international levels.

“This is proven by the achievements of Pahang students who represented Malaysia in the Make X International Robotics Competition in China for two consecutive years, namely Sekolah Kebangsaan Permatang Keledang in 2023 and Sekolah Kebangsaan Padang Rumbi this year.

“We also held a basic workshop on Robotics Education Co-curriculum for 33 Orang Asli Schools (SMOA) in Pahang from Oct 2-4 at Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Koyan, Lipis,” he said.

-- BERNAMA