Back-to-school aid goes up next year. When he tabled Budget 2027 in the Dewan Rakyat on 9 October 2026, Prime Minister and Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim raised Bantuan Awal Persekolahan (BAP) from RM150 to RM200 per pupil for the 2027 school session. With term starting in eight weeks, this is what has been confirmed, what changed from 2026, and what is still unknown.
The numbers
Bernama and RTM both report the same figures from the budget speech:
- RM200 per pupil, up from RM150
- about 5.3 million pupils eligible
- an allocation of RM1 billion
- in Anwar's own example, "a family with four children will receive RM800"
For comparison, the 2026 round paid RM150 to more than 5.2 million pupils, from an RM800 million allocation. The Education Ministry said at the time that the 2026 aid had been extended to Form Six students, and the National Security Council's December 2025 notice also counted them in.
Paid at school, not into your account
Anwar said the 2027 aid "would be distributed directly at schools so parents could attend and meet the teachers". That is the same method used in 2026. The 2026 round went back to cash handed over at school during teacher-parent meetings.
In practice, the school tells you the day, you go in, and you collect the money for each child enrolled there. If your children are at different schools, each school pays its own pupils. BAP is a one-off payment that the school releases from its pupil records, so there is no form to fill in. Websites that ask you to "apply" or "check status" for BAP are not official channels, and you should not give them your MyKad details.
When will it come?
No date has been announced. As of 9 November 2026, we found nothing on distribution timing on the Ministry of Education's website or in the budget coverage.
What we do know:
- Schools reopen on Monday 4 January 2027 for both Group A (Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu) and Group B, under the ministry's 2027 academic calendar. Our school holidays guide has the full calendar.
- In 2026, the aid started reaching parents from 11 January, in the first week of term. Parents complained that the money came only after school had already started.
- Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek told reporters in January 2026 that the ministry had received those complaints and would give the aid earlier "from next year", so families could prepare sooner.
So the commitment is on record, but there is no date yet. If the ministry keeps its word, the payout should come before 4 January, which would fall inside the year-end school break. Watch for a notice from your child's school or the ministry in December.
No deductions, not even PIBG
Every year some schools deduct PIBG (parent-teacher association) fees or other charges from the cash. In January 2026 Fadhlina said the RM150 had to be handed over in full "without a single sen" deducted. She also said parents who received less, "even 10 sen or RM1 short", should tell the ministry. Expect the same rule for the RM200. PIBG and other fees are paid separately.
The rest of the school package
The same part of the budget speech also announced:
- a living allowance of RM2,500 for Form Six students, matching the matriculation rate, for about 90,000 students
- RM870 million for the Supplementary Food Programme (RMT), covering more than 800,000 pupils
- teaching assistants for 200 high-density primary schools, to cut teachers' clerical work
- an improved school public donation fund, where cash donations qualify for a tax deduction of up to 10% of aggregate income (as reported by RTM)
BAP sits alongside the household cash aid in the budget. Our STR and SARA explainer covers what each household gets in 2027.
*Sources: Bernama, "Budget 2027: Early Schooling Aid Increased To RM200 Per Student" (9 October 2026); RTM, "BAP naik kepada RM200, manfaat 5.3 juta murid"; Sinar Harian Budget 2027 report (9 October 2026); National Security Council (MKN) notice on BAP 2026 (23 December 2025); Sabah Media report of Fadhlina Sidek's remarks (10 January 2026); Buletin TV3 on the 2026 roll-out and the no-deduction reminder; Ministry of Education Kalendar Akademik 2027. All read 9 November 2026.*
*Cover image: secondary school pupils in Sandakan, Sabah, by CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.*
