PEKAN, Feb 29 (Bernama) -- The Education Ministry has allocated RM174 million for fully-aided Chinese primary schools and RM65 million for Tamil schools under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said today.

Another RM100 million has been allotted to aided Chinese and Tamil schools, the deputy prime minister said.

Apart from providing financial aid for infrastructure development, the government also extended assistance for educational support such as free textbook aid, supplementary food programme, poor students trust fund and uniforms for uniformed bodies.

"All these comes from a caring Barisan Nasional (BN) government, regardless of whether they are national or vernacular schools, to provide equal educational access and quality education in line with the government's mission to produce human capital of excellence and distinction," he said when speaking at the ground-breaking for the RM2.9 million new wing of the Pekan Chinese primary school.

Najib said the BN government's concern for national education development was evident from the abolition of school fees, which cost the government RM36.7 million a year, and RM255 million for scrapping the examination fee.

These aside, he said, the government also channelled RM3 billion in education subsidies to provide various facilities for the 2008 school term.

"This amount works out to 12 per cent of the Education Ministry's annual operational budget as compared to RM1.68 billion last year.

"This is the biggest welfare aid extended to the people by the BN government. PAS is only dreaming to establish a welfare state, but the BN has already proven it," said Najib, who is defending his Pekan parliamentary seat in next Saturday's general election.

He said parents were heaving a sigh of relieve from the government's generosity.

"If there are parents who still cannot afford to send their children to school, they can inform the district education office and the government is prepared to find a solution.

"The government don't want to see any more cases of students dropping out from school due to poverty and unable to catch up with their studies," he added.

-- BERNAMA