Budget 2018: RM550 million to upgrade, maintain schools

Tabling Budget 2018 in Parliament, Najib, who is also the Finance Minister, said the allocation encompassed national schools (RM250 million), national-type Chinese schools (RM50 million), national-type Tamil schools (RM50 million), missionary schools (RM50 million), boarding schools (RM50 million), MARA Junior Science Colleges (RM50 million) and government-aided religious schools (RM50 million).

He also announced what he described as the largest allocation of RM2.5 billion for a period of two years for the upgrading and refurbishing of 2,000 dilapidated schools nationwide, of which RM500 million was for schools in peninsular Malaysia, RM1 billion for schools in Sabah and RM1 billion for schools in Sarawak.

As for school assistance, he said, a total of RM2.9 billion was being allocated for food assistance, textbooks, per capita grants and federal scholarships for schools.

He also said that schooling assistance worth RM100 per student from the low-income household will be continued with an allocation of RM328 million, benefiting 3.2 million students. -- Bernama