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The government is mulling a proposal to directly credit the RM150 early schooling aid into the accounts of pupils.
The proposal aims to prevent a similar incident in January that saw a headmaster losing all RM100,000 of the Bantuan Awal Persekolahan (BAP) after withdrawing the money himself at the bank.
The investigation at the time revealed that the headmaster didn’t follow the protocols as the headmaster should have requested a security escort to make the withdrawal.
After the robbery, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said the cash aid will be replaced because it’s the children’s right.
READ MORE: Headmaster Leaves RM100K School Cash Aid In Car, Gets Robbed
During Question Time in Parliament today (15 March), Deputy Education Minister Lim Hui Ying said the proposal must take into account the willingness of banks and the difficulty of those in the interior who incur high travel costs to visit a bank.
However, The Star reported that Putrajaya MP Datuk Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin interjected and said the aid was initially credited to students’ accounts during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He also asked for a timeline for the proposal to be implemented.
Lim replied that a specific timeline can’t be given and explained that the aid is currently credited into bank accounts jointly owned by parents and students under 12 years old.
I can’t give a specific timeline. But it is in the process. We cannot force them (the account holders), but only encourage them. We also received feedback from parents about improving the process of aid distribution.
Deputy Education Minister Lim Hui Ying
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