Teo (second right) and Dr Abdul Rahman (right) visit a mobile optometry clinic during the STEM Carnival at UiTM Shah Alam. — Bernama photo
SHAH ALAM: The government has not decided on whether it wants to give out the 1Malaysia Book Vouchers to eligible university and pre-university students next year.
Deputy Education Minister, Teo Nie Ching said the ministry had not had discussions on the matter, adding it will all depend on the budget and any announcement on the vouchers would be made by Education Minister Dr Mazlee Malik.
She was speaking to reporters after opening the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Carnival at UiTM here yesterday.
Also present was UiTM deputy vice-chancellor (Research and Innovation), Prof Dr Abdul Rahman Omar.
Teo was earlier asked to comment on the status of the book vouchers in light of the Pakatan Rakyat (PH) government’s commitment to reduce the country’s spending including reducing the 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) payment, which was recently announced by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The book vouchers introduced in 2012 were given out to eligible students with each of them receiving a voucher worth RM200 which was increased to RM250, the following year.
Meanwhile, Teo in her speech called on all parties including education industry players to make greater strides in the fields of science and technology, in an effort to transform the education of the nation.
She said the move was necessary for Malaysians to become a ‘race’ that was capable of creating, exploring and innovating products and services as well as facing challenges at the gobal level.
“We need to change our old way of thinking that we are merely technology users and recipients. Instead, we need to become a people that can create, explore and innovate,” she added. — Bernama