KUCHING: The Sarawak government has channelled RM8.83 million in subsidies for early childhood education and childcare fees since 2023 to help lower-income families access preschool education.
Minister of Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said the assistance benefited households earning below RM7,000 monthly under the state’s initiative to ensure equal access to early childhood education.
She said the subsidies benefited 9,746 children involving 726 early childhood education institutions statewide between 2023 and 2025.
“We want to ensure every child in Sarawak has access to early childhood education in line with the ministry’s aspiration of ‘No Child Is Left Behind’, regardless of whether they live in urban or rural areas,” she said during the SeDidik Teachers’ Day celebration here last night (May 16).
She said economic background should not become a barrier preventing children from receiving equal opportunities in early childhood education.
“We realise that families come from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Therefore, through the RM1,000 subsidy for households earning below RM7,000 and initiatives by the Sarawak government, we ensure economic disparity does not hinder children from accessing early childhood education,” she said.
According to figures presented during the event, subsidy allocations amounted to RM2.48 million in 2023, RM2.5 million in 2024 and RM3.85 million in 2025.
Fatimah said Sarawak currently recorded 70,968 children enrolled in early childhood education institutions under various agencies statewide.
The largest number was under the Sarawak State Education Department with 45,155 children, followed by KEMAS Sarawak with 17,068 children.
Meanwhile, SeDidik Sarawak currently operates 107 centres statewide comprising 23 TASKA, 83 TADIKA and one care centre in Bintulu.
She said the state government remained committed to strengthening access and quality in early childhood education through subsidies, teacher training and improved preschool facilities.
“SeDidik continues to strengthen teacher professionalism training, improve facilities at TASKA and TADIKA centres, and ensure the curriculum remains relevant to global needs while staying rooted in our own cultural values,” she said.
