KUALA LUMPUR: Of the total 10,987 Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM) students in 15 schools in Malaysia, 43.9 per cent are from B40 group, 29.6 per cent from M40 group and 26.4 per cent from T20 groups, the Dewan Negara was told.
Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) had always prioritised and ensured excellent students from the low-income family (B40) in the city, as well as rural areas, received the best education in MRSM.
“Among Mara’s commitment to pursue the B40 group are by making accessible quality education and training in MRSM such as by increasing higher weightage in merit calculation based on socio-economic status for B40 students in an effort to give higher chances for them to enter MRSM.
“Mara also collaborates with Orang Asli Development Department, state departments and state Islamic department to identify Orang Asli children and underprivileged children who qualify to enter MRSM.
“Cash contributions are also given to students to ease their burden and to ensure they can focus on their studies,” said Ismail in a reply to a question from Senator Azizah Harun during the question-and-answer session.
Azizah had asked Ismail to state Mara’s commitment to increase enrolment of students from the B40 group to MRSM which is currently only at 53.3 per cent.
The T20 group is defined as having a median income of RM13,148. The M40 group has median income of RM6,275, while the B40 have a median income of RM3,000 and mean income of RM2,537.