.JPG)
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 9 — Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M Saravanan has assured the ethnic Indian community today that Tamil schools will get adequate allocation similar as previous Budgets announced.
He also dismissed claims that the government does not have enough funds to support Tamil schools in the country.
“The Education Ministry will announce the breakdown of its allocation in the 2021 Budget.
“I have spoken to the finance minister and the education minister. They said that this time around, a whole lump sum of RM50 billion has been parked under education development,” he told a press conference at the Parliament building here.
Saravanan who is also MIC vice-president was responding to the Indian communities’ expression of discontent and has threatened to withdraw their support for the government.
According to Saravanan, Education Minister Mohd Radzi Jidin will announce the allocation for Tamil schools soon which will be included in the ministry’s RM50 billion budget.
“The Indian community is unhappy with Tamil schools’ allocation because usually, we get about RM100 million [from the yearly budget].
“The education minister will announce the allocation, so I would like to ask the Indian community to be patient because the announcement is coming soon,” he said.
On Friday, The Perikatan Nasional administration allocated RM50 billion or close to a fourth of its RM322.5 billion federal Budget for education, among the highest in recent years.
According to Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafril Abdul Aziz, a large chunk of it will go into improving, maintaining and repairing public schools, particularly in Sabah and Sarawak.
The Higher Education Ministry will receive RM14.4 billion, with RM50 million reserved for maintenance work on public universities.
