K-KOMM considers expanding Perantisiswa assistance to more institutions

KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (K-KOMM) is ready to expand the provision of the PerantiSiswa Keluarga Malaysia device assistance to B40 students in educational institutions other than those under the purview of the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE).

Its Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said since the application process was opened on April 15, there were applications received from students of institutions under other ministries.

Among them are the Academy of Arts, Culture and National Heritage (Aswara) under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) and the Institute of Teacher Education (IPG) under the Ministry of Education (KPM).

"For the first phase, we are looking to provide PerantiSiswa devices to B40 students under KPT, namely public and private institutions of higher learning, polytechnics and community colleges, and for the second phase, we will consider providing to other institutions.

"If there is enough capacity (gadgets) with the (budget) ceiling given to K-KOMM, we are ready to expand it based on demand (applications received)," he told reporters at the Media Practitioners' Appreciation Ceremony here today.

Commenting on the fact that the number of students expected to receive the assistance was different from the figure announced in Budget 2022, Annuar said the original number of 600,000 students was an estimate for the budget.

He said reviews conducted later found that the actual number of B40 students at KPTs was lower, and opined that providing cheap devices to students was not a suitable option.

"Students need highly capable devices. Therefore, we have proposed to procure high-quality devices with the number of students that we currently estimate being 400,000... but this all depends on the actual number of applications received.

"If we order many devices but receive fewer applications, then there will be wastage. We do not know the exact number of applications yet. (Applications for) the first phase opened on April 15 and closes on May 15," he said.

-- BERNAMA