Back to school cheer for 100 underprivileged kids

One hundred primary and secondary underprivileged school children in the Permas Jaya area received aid in the form of bags and stationery items to help them through the 2019 school year.

“The Johor Bahru City Council allocated RM8,000.00 for the school children who also included those with special needs,” said City Councillor Danny Tan Peng Chye.

“We place a lot emphasis on children going and remaining in school because education helps children stay away from many social ills and later on they can help their parents once they are able to get into the workforce after college or university,” Tan added.

Officiating the Back-to-School event was Pasir Gudang Member of Parliament, YB Haji Hassan Abdul Karim who in addressing the parents present said that all around the country the government is channeling much needed aid to children from the lower income groups to help ease the burden of parents in providing the items for their children to go to school.

“This shows the importance the government is placing on education, because with good and accessible education, children can lift their parents out of poverty, Hassan said.

Education, Hassan said received the lion’s share of the nation’s 2019 budget at RM60.2 billion, “so that every children at school-going age can go to school and then to college or university.”

“If they cannot get to university, it doesn’t matter because we have community colleges and polytechnics to develop their technical skills through certificate and diploma programmes.

“For example, here we have the Johor Skills Development Centre or PUSPATRI and I have been told that graduates from this centre are working in Petronas’ refinery and petrochemical integrated development project (RAPID) in Pengerang, Johor earning very good salaries and wages,” he added.

In addition to PUSPATRI, there are two other vocational colleges in the Pasir Gudang area; Pasir Gudang Community College and Polytechnic Ibrahim Sultan.

On hand to representing Menteri Besar YB Dato Osman Sapian was his special assistant, Syed Osman who said that back-to-school events were being carried out all over Johor in both rural and urban poor communities.

We are working with NGOs, government agencies, groups and communities to help identify the children in need of assistance.

“I must stress here that we will assist with the aid regardless of political affiliations,” Syed Othman said.