Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman and the ECM Libra Foundation organised Utar-ECM Libra Foundation Tuition Programme for the fourth time to help benefit primary school pupils.

As in previous years, they organised a series of comprehensive English, Bahasa Malaysia and IT (Information Technology) tuition sessions for selected primary schools in Kampar, Gopeng, Tronoh Mines and Batu Gajah.

The participating schools, selected from the Utar New Village Community Project, were SJKC Jeram, SJKC Bemban, SJKC Lawan Kuda Baru, SJKC Thung Hon and SJKC Sin Min.

The goal of the project was to heighten the pupils’ English and Malay language and IT proficiency.

In addition, the programme was also used as a stage to prepare the students prior to UPSR and their school final term examinations.

During the closing ceremony held at the university’s Kampar campus last month, Utar Vice President for Student Development and Alumni Relations Prof Dr Choong Chee Keong said Utar as a not-for-profit university established for the people and by the people, strives to provide educational opportunities for deserving students in the country.

“Education can transform the lives of youths and broaden their horizons to build a brighter and better tomorrow.

“In line with that, the Utar-ECM Libra Foundation English, Bahasa Malaysia and IT Tuition Programme is an excellent and creative way to nurture young learners and UTAR students to progress further,” he said in his speech.

He said that the ECM Libra Foundation and Utar should continue the initiative to benefit more children from more villages.

ECM Libra Foundation trustee Lim Beng Choon said education is an important component which would help to ensure sustainable societal development. “It is the foundation’s goal to help students in need of a quality education.

“We offer grants to institutions and schools as well as interest-free loans to deserving students to pursue tertiary education.

Lim also highlighted the importance of English, saying that the purpose the foundation constantly provides English tuition programme to schoolchildren from New Villages is to create awareness that learning English can help the children to learn through more channels and sources.

“Grasping English can also be a huge benefit to help the children grow greater communication ability, in addition to accessing wider sources of information.

At the closing ceremony, schoolchildren from Standard One to Standard Six showcased their language ability through performances such as poem recitals and singing English songs and Malay poem.

The closing ceremony ended with Lim presenting prizes to school students who had performed well in the final assessment as well as those who had shown great improvement in the programme.

The tuition programme was jointly conducted since March this year by the Utar Department of Soft Skills Competency, Faculty of Arts and Social Science, Faculty of Information and Communication Technology and Faculty of Science.

This article is from The Star Metro News, dated Dec 8, 2017:
https://www.thestar.com.my/metro/metro-news/2017/12/08/strengthening-educational-foundations