KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Education (MOE) has distributed a total of RM1.18 billion in general schooling assistance to 10,360 schools and educational institutions nationwide this year. Minister Fadhlina Sidek stated that RM309.86 million of this amount was allocated to 4,329 rural schools to ensure that children in these areas are not marginalised.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the general schooling assistance supports activities such as teaching and learning, sports, co-curricular programmes, personality development, and student welfare, in addition to school administration and hostels. Minister Fadhlina made these remarks in response to a question from Senator Datuk Dr Azhar Ahmad regarding the aid allocated to schools, particularly those in rural areas, during a question and answer session at the Dewan Negara.

In a related session, Deputy Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Rubiah Wang addressed the conditions set for the Desa Lestari Programme, which aims to increase the income of coop
eratives and provide job opportunities for villagers. Rubiah highlighted that a successful example of this programme is the agro-tourism initiative in Kampung Pulau Tuba, Langkawi, where a RM1 million grant was used to generate business and economic programmes benefiting both the cooperative and the village.

Rubiah further explained that more than 150 villages nationwide have participated in the Desa Lestari Programme since its inception in 2013, which serves as an initiative to empower the rural economy. This was in response to a supplementary question from Senator Hussin Ismail, who inquired about the possibility of easing the programme’s conditions.