KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 9): The government is raising its back-to-school assistance by RM50 to RM200 per pupil from RM150, alongside measures to ease student loan repayments and living expenses for those pursuing higher education.
Announcing this in his Budget 2027 speech on Friday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the increase in early schooling aid (BAP) would benefit 5.3 million pupils, with RM1 billion allocated for the programme.
“This means a family with four children will receive RM800 to prepare for the 2027 school session,” said Anwar.
The assistance will be distributed at schools, allowing parents to meet teachers and discuss their children's academic progress.
Meanwhile, Form Six students will receive a RM2,500 living allowance, matching the amount provided to matriculation students. The measure, which had been announced previously, is expected to benefit 90,000 students.
The Education Ministry continued to receive the largest allocation under Budget 2027 at nearly RM69 billion, up from RM66.2 billion this year. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Higher Education was allocated RM19.1 billion, which includes an RM800 million portion to upgrade infrastructure such as lecture halls and student accommodation.
Anwar said the government is also allocating RM870 million for the Supplementary Food Programme (RMT), benefitting more than 800,000 pupils.
For students with special educational needs, the monthly allowance will increase to RM200 from RM150, benefitting more than 150,000 students, including children with autism.
PTPTN repayment relief and student living costs
Separately, the government is easing repayment requirements for borrowers under the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN), with more than 400,000 borrowers expected to benefit.
Under Budget 2027, borrowers earning up to RM2,500 a month will be allowed to defer their loan repayments.
Those earning between RM2,500 and RM3,000 a month will be subject to a minimum repayment of RM50 monthly.
Borrowers who have no outstanding arrears and maintain regular repayments will also receive a 10% discount.
The government will also introduce tax deductions for employers who repay PTPTN loans on behalf of their employees, covering payments made between Jan 1, 2027 and Dec 31, 2028.
Meanwhile, the FLYsiswa Madani flight ticket subsidy will increase to RM500 from RM400, benefitting more than 60,000 public higher education students.
FLYsiswa is a financial aid initiative that provides a flight ticket subsidy to help public university and higher education students cover inter-state travel costs between Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan
To address food expenses on campuses, the Dapur Siswa Madani initiative will be expanded to polytechnics and teacher education institutes, with RM20 million allocated for cooking equipment, food supplies and meals priced at RM5 under the Menu Kasih Siswa programme.
Those contributing food supplies and equipment to the programme will be eligible for tax deductions from Jan 1, 2027 until Dec 31, 2030.
Student accommodation will also receive attention, with Retirement Fund (Incorporated) [KWAP] investing RM750 million under the Vista Kampus project to develop student residences at six selected universities, including Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) and Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM).
Meanwhile, the first phase of Universiti Malaya's student residence development is scheduled for completion in 2031, accommodating 10,000 students.
The government will also double the number of Public Service Department (JPA) sponsorship offers for students from Sabah and Sarawak, allowing 4,200 students from the two states to pursue university education each year.