KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 10 — The Nadi School Uniform initiative not only helps families acquire school supplies at more affordable prices, but also opens up opportunities for alumni of the Nadi Sewing Skills programme to generate income through the skills they have learned.
Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek stated that this initiative originated from the Nadi Mahir Jahit programme provided under the National Information Dissemination Centre (Nadi), which gives participants -consisting of housewives and single mothers - the opportunity to learn sewing skills before utilising those skills to generate family income.
“Over 2,000 participants have joined the Nadi Mahir Jahit programme, and it is now entering its fourth intake. It is from this programme that the Nadi School Uniform initiative was born.
“Alumni who already possess these skills are given the opportunity to produce school attire to be sold at more affordable prices to the community. This is truly an initiative that I support,” she said via a Facebook post yesterday.
Through its Lifelong Learning pillar, Nadi provides a platform for underprivileged and marginalised groups to access education and skills training, covering Nadi TINYTECHIE, NURTURE EKELAS Students, Nadi E-Sports, Nadi Rakyat Tuition, Nadi Cybersecurity, Nadi Skills (Sewing, Cooking, Gadget Repair, Photo/Video, Smart Agriculture, ICT Literacy), and the Nadi AI Programme.
Fadhlina said that for families in need, Nadi also provides an option to make instalment payments for the purchase of school uniform without imposing any interest or additional charges.
She noted that this facility is neither a loan nor a “Pay Later” scheme, but rather an option to help parents manage their expenses, especially when they need to prepare school supplies for multiple children simultaneously.
Elaborating further, Fadhlina said the greatest value of this initiative lies not merely in a way to buy a school uniform, but in the opportunities created when a person is given skills and the space to use them.
“A woman learns to sew. Her skill becomes a source of income. Her handiwork, in turn, helps other families save money.
“I believe a good programme does not just provide assistance for yesterday. It provides skills so that a person has more choices for today. One skill. Two families benefit,” she said. — Bernama
