KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 — Approximately 1,915,110 school and tertiary-level students nationwide have redeemed the Madani Book Voucher programme as of yesterday.
Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh said that of the total, 661,487 are primary school pupils from Year Four and above; 1,191,817 are secondary school students; and 61,806 are students from vocational colleges, pre-university, matriculation colleges, and teacher education institutes.
"The total value of Madani book vouchers redeemed by this group as of October 21 is RM157 million. From the redemption, the total purchase value stood at RM120.5 million, involving 3.9 million copies of books,” he said during the question-and-answer session at the Dewan Rakyat today.
Wong was responding to Ipoh Timor MP Lee Chuan How's query on the status of the distribution of book vouchers and the total allocation provided.
To ensure the book vouchers reached its target of 3,558,024 people by the end of this year, the Education Ministry has held engagement sessions with all state Education Departments, District Education Offices, as well as library teachers and the media nationwide to assist students in redeeming the vouchers.
"Data on the book voucher redemptions from each state, district and school will be constantly monitored to ensure the redemption runs smoothly and is optimised.
"Overall, this programme not only supports the development of literacy among students but, with this significant allocation, the Madani Book Voucher programme is also able to enhance access to quality educational resources, instil a love for reading, and promote lifelong reading,” he said.
On May 30, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that pupils from Year Four and above, all the way to secondary and tertiary levels, will be given book vouchers worth RM50 to RM100.
— Bernama
