The National Information Dissemination Centre (NADI) Mahir initiative allows parents in Malaysia to purchase school uniforms on an instalment payment plan that carries no interest or additional charges, easing the financial burden ahead of the school year [1, 2, 3].

Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said the scheme provides relief for families, especially when preparing school needs for multiple children. "This facility is neither a loan nor a 'Pay Later' scheme, but rather an option to help parents manage their expenses," she stated [3].

The school uniforms are crafted by 120 alumni of the NADI Mahir Jahit programme, a skills-training project mainly involving housewives and single mothers who have become entrepreneurs [1, 4, 5]. Over 2,000 participants have joined the programme, now in its fourth intake [2, 6, 7, 3]. The minister explained, "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" [2].

Fadhlina highlighted the broader goals of NADI's initiatives across the country. These include tuition support, esports, cybersecurity and AI exposure, as well as life skills training such as sewing, cooking, gadget repair, ICT literacy, and entrepreneurship [4, 2, 6, 7, 5, 3].

The NADI Tuisyen Rakyat programme serves over 42,000 students nationwide, including more than 73 from Nibong Tebal. In 2025, it produced 65 outstanding students in the SPM exam [4, 5]. On August 8, Fadhlina officiated the Madani Kita programme in Nibong Tebal and highlighted the school uniform instalment plan as part of the event [4, 5]. She further explained the initiative’s origins in a Facebook post on August 9 and reaffirmed her support with a post today [2, 6, 7, 3].

Fadhlina said, "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 today. It provides skills so that a person has more choices for tomorrow. One skill. Two families benefit" [2].

The government expects the instalment option to continue helping families manage education expenses sustainably as the new school term approaches.