Dr Annuar: Sarawak Education Enhancement Programme expanded to benefit over 102,000 students

SIBU (April 2): The Sarawak Education Enhancement Programme (SEEP) has been expanded this year to include students from Form One to Form Five, benefiting a total of 102,368 students from 186 secondary schools across Sarawak and involving 5,637 teachers, said Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee.

The Sarawak Deputy Minister of Education, Innovation and Talent Development pointed out that the programme, which began in 2025, initially targeted students Form Three to Form Five students by providing free tuition, but has now been broadened to cover lower secondary students as well.

He added that the Sarawak government has allocated RM20 million this year for the implementation of SEEP, underscoring its commitment to strengthening education quality and bridging the urban-rural gap.

“SEEP is being implemented across 31 district education offices (PPD), involving 186 secondary schools, 5,637 teachers and 4,315 classes, with a total of 9,787 groups formed.

“Under SEEP, students are provided with free tuition and specially prepared module books to support their learning,” he said.

He added that the initiative aims to improve the State Average Grade (GPN) in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination and increase the number of students in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) stream, particularly from rural areas, to enable them to access assistance such as Free Tertiary Education Scheme (FTES) provided by the Sarawak government.

Providing a breakdown of the 102,368 students benefiting from SEEP, he said 51,437 are male while 50,931 are female.

In terms of participation by level, he revealed that Form Three recorded the highest number of students at 20,214, followed by Form Five (Arts) with 19,384, Form Two with 18,263, Form Four (Arts) with 17,617 students, and Form One with 16,350 participants.

The Nangka assemblyman added that the strong involvement of schools and teachers reflects a coordinated statewide effort to enhance student performance and expand opportunities in science and technology fields.

For the record, SEEP is designed to improve student academic performance and reduce educational disparities between urban and rural schools.

It provides targeted support for educators and school leaders while focusing on students scoring 40 per cent and below in key subjects across all streams, as well as those from underserved areas or at risk of falling behind academically.

SEEP also offers free extra classes with personalised support to strengthen students’ foundational understanding.