Wong distributing school bags to adopted pupils at SJK (T) Ladang Bahau, Negri Sembilan as its headmaster M. Thiyagu (in tie) looks on.

THE IOI Group’s Foundation, IOI Foundation (formerly known as Yayasan Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng), has awarded RM360,000 to needy children from 29 primary and secondary schools in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah under its Student Adoption Programme 2016.

IOI Foundation (formerly known as Yayasan Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng) executive director Datin Joanne Wong and her team recently visited 13 of the schools in the Klang Valley and Bahau, Negeri Sembilan, and met with the respective school principals, headmasters and assistant principals of student affairs.

Under the Student Adoption Programme, pupils will each receive RM800 while students will receive RM1,000 per annum until they complete their primary and secondary education.

This financial aid is channelled directly to the needs and expenses of the students, giving priority to food, transportation, tuition and lessons in English and information and communications technology.

In addition to this programme, IOI also supports the education of 2,133 children via 26 Humana Learning Centres in its oil palm estates in Sabah, as they are stateless children of plantation workers who are not able to enrol in national schools.

“Developing human capital, in supporting the advancement of industries in Malaysia, entails equal access to education as we hope to equip and motivate these students toward the path of excellence,” said Wong.