Ramanan said the measures include free tuition under the Kalvi Madani programme, laptop distribution through Peranti Siswa, school maintenance funds, and temple community grants under Dharma Madani, Bernama reported.
The deputy entrepreneur development and cooperatives minister also said Kalvi Madani will provide free tuition to students in 200 Tamil schools nationwide through an RM8 million allocation, modelled after the Madani Tuition Programme in Kelantan and Terengganu, Bernama reported.
Another RM7.95 million has been set aside to provide laptops to 3,000 first-year students from B40 families by Dec 31, while RM12.8 million will go towards repairing and upgrading furniture in 173 SJKTs.
“The list of schools will be identified by the education ministry,” he was quoted as saying at a press conference after a meeting of the committee today.
In addition, he said, RM3.5 million will be distributed under the Eradication of Extreme Poverty Programme.
“This step will benefit 1,064 recipients who will receive RM300 or a maximum rate of RM1,750. The list of recipients will be obtained from eKasih,” he said.
Ramanan said the government will also continue the Early Entry Assistance for Higher Education Institutions 5.0 initiative, allocating RM10 million for B40 students, offering RM2,000 each for regular students and RM3,000 for those with disabilities.
Applications for this programme will open via its website on Oct 17 at 3pm and close on Nov 17.
Applications for Dharma Madani, a RM20 million programme to support temples as community and cultural hubs, will also open on Oct 17 at 3pm and close on Nov 3 through perpaduan.gov.my.
Each of the 1,000 temples selected under the first phase can receive up to RM20,000, with most of the funds designated for religious and cultural activities such as thevaram and dance classes.
“If these 1,000 temples meet all the requirements and qualifications, submit performance reports to Mitra on time, all in a structured manner, (and) we will give them an opportunity in the second phase,” Ramanan said.