UNDER Yayasan PETRONAS’ Back To School 2019 (BTS 2019) programme, around 300 primary school students from low-income households in Kuala Lumpur recently received school supplies for their academic year in 2020.
The selected students were from low-income families, particularly the Bottom 40% (B40) households. Each student received a school bag, tumbler, poncho, stationery along with two pairs of school uniform, and a pair of socks and shoes.
The students from Kuala Lumpur received their school supplies from PETRONAS chairman and Yayasan PETRONAS chairman Datuk Ahmad Nizam Salleh, district education office planning and management sector deputy education director Mohd Najib Ab Rahman and Yayasan PETRONAS CEO Lita Osman.
“This is our largest nationwide outreach since the programme started 17 years ago and we’re glad that we can help the students prepare for school next year.
“We hope that by removing one of the barriers that students from low-income families often experience, they will be motivated to stay and finish school,” said Lita.
According to recent reports by the Education Ministry, school dropout rates in Malaysia have declined slightly from 0.34% to 0.29% between 2014 and 2017, and the ministry aims to further reduce the rates to 0.27% in 2019.
BTS 2019, which ran from mid-October to November, was further supported by more than 800 PETRONAS volunteers who selected school uniforms and shoes for the children, along with the packing and delivery of the items to the schools.
