Don't Waste Educational Facilities, Says Pak Lah

KEPALA BATAS, Feb 8 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today advised the people to take full advantage of the educational facilities provided by the government and to strive for educational excellence.

He said the government had given emphasis on education ever since the country gained independence and provided various facilities to churn out a pool of professionals to develop the country.

In the past, educational opportunities were limited and depended on the ability of the family to pay for their children's education, he said.

There were students who had to end their schooling after the Sijil Rendah Pelajaran (SRP) as their parents were poor and the highest position then was only as teachers, he said.

Abdullah was speaking at the 2007 PMR Excellence Award 2007 presentation of the Poor Students Trust Fund (KWAMP) and scholarships for the Kepala Batas Parliamentary constituency at the Dewan Millenium today.

"But now, the government is providing all the necessities including subsidies for uniforms, supplementary food, school fees, examination fees and the Parent/Teacher's Association (PTA) fees as well as text books for all students so that they can study properly," he said.

Abdullah, who is also the member of parliament for Kepala Batas, said everyone should be thankful for the facilities provided by the government and its concern in developing the educational sector to churn out more professionals in the country.

With the facilities available, he wanted teachers, parents, the PTAs and students to carry out their responsibilities with determination so that there would not be any dropouts before Form Five.

Abdullah said the pursuit of knowledge was obligatory in Islam and as such the enhancement of knowledge, which could eventually be used to eradicate poverty and generate development, was the most important element under Islam Hadhari or Civilisational Islam.

Out of the RM2.8 million allocation under the KWAMP fund for Penang, the Kepala Batas constituency received RM430,200.

-- BERNAMA