Budget 2013 - How it affects the education industry and students

The 2013 Budget and how it affects the education industry and students.

Ministry of Education and Schools

- Total expenditure allocation for Education Ministry is RM38.7bil which 21% of the total budget

- Additional RM500mil is allocated to train teachers in the core subjects of English, Bahasa Malaysia, Science and Maths

Pre-School

- RM1.2bil allocation for pre-school development

- RM380m allocated to Ministry of Education for placement of kindergarten teachers

- RM10,000 grants for private operators who set up new nurseries and kindergartens.

- 5 years income tax exemption for private pre-school operators

Higher Education

- RM600 million allocated to 5 research universities (UM, USM, UKM, UPM, UTM) to conduct high-impact research in strategic fields such as nanotechnology, automotive, biotechnology and aerospace

- 1Malaysia book voucher for students studying at institutions of higher learing to RM250 from RM200 previously.

- To ease financial burden of parents, the Government proposes that the existing tax relief on the children's higher education amounting to RM4,000 per person be increased to RM6,000.

- PTPTN loans - Incentive for repayment of full loan from Oct 1, 2012 until Sept 30, 2013, a discount of 20% will be given on their loan. Regular repayment gets a 10% discount

Entrepreneurship

- To assist young ICT entrepreneurs, a New Entrepreneur Foundation (NEF) will be established with an initial allocation of RM50mil.

- In addition, a Young Entrepreneurs Fund will be established with an allocation of RM50mil by the SME Bank. The soft loans, aimed at youths aged 30 and below, offers a 2% interest rate subsidy for loans up to RM100,000 with a 7-year repayment period.

Skills and Training

- RM3.7 billion will be allocated to train students in technical and vocational fields.- RM440 million to the Skills Development Fund Corporation (PTPK), to provide loans for trainees to undergo skills training. This measure will benefit nearly 40,000 trainees undertaking the Malaysia Skill Certificate Level One to Five.- RM366 million to upgrade as well as purchase equipment for Industrial Training Institutes and National Youth Vocational Institutes (IKBN).

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