Prof Choong and Lim with the tuition programme’s schoolchildren
The UTAR-ECM Libra Foundation English and Bahasa Malaysia Tuition Programme 2016 marked another milestone in conjunction with its completion on 1 October 2016 at the Sungai Long Campus. The closing ceremony of the collaborative project saw the presence of UTAR Vice President for Student Development and Alumni Relations Prof Dr Choong Chee Keong, ECM Libra Foundation Executive Trustee Lim Beng Choon, school representatives, schoolchildren, parents, UTAR Department of Soft Skills Competency’s staff and student helpers.
The main objective of the English and Bahasa Malaysia tuition programmes was to help schoolchildren use both languages more confidently. More than 100 students benefited from the tuition programmes through over 20 classes since March 2016. Schools involved were SJK(C) Batu 9, SJK(C) Batu 11, SJK(C) Balakong and SJK(C) Sungai Chua.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, Prof Choong thanked all the individuals and parties for their contributions in making the programme a great success since 2014. “UTAR and ECM Libra Foundation have enjoyed a friendly relationship following the mutual passion and interest by both parties in giving back to society. This year, the joint ventures started in March in conjunction with the presentation of the sponsorship and launch of the ECM Libra Foundation-UTAR Collaboration Project 2016.
“The projects mainly focused on English tuition for primary school students in new villages in the country. Our joint initiatives have led to many fruitful outcomes. Our partnership with ECM Libra Foundation has become even stronger when these projects extended to the IT Skills Programme and Bahasa Malaysia Tuition where the volunteers visit schools and conduct tuition classes on weekends. These are also precious learning opportunities for UTAR staff and students from both Kampar and Sungai Long Campuses to get in touch with the nearby communities and schools for greater societal impact,” added Prof Choong.
Lim said, “Education will help to ensure sustainable societal development. Hence, it is ECM Libra Foundation’s aspiration to help students in need to access quality education.” He added, “We offer grants to institutions and schools as well as interest-free loans to deserving students to pursue tertiary education. Besides, we also provide various projects to needy schoolchildren through tuition, remedial and non-academic programmes.”
Highlighting the importance of English, Lim explained, “The purpose ECM Libra Foundation constantly provides English tuition programme to schoolchildren from new villages is to create awareness in the community and the parents that learning English can help the children to learn through more channels and sources. Mastering English can also be a huge advantage to help the children develop greater communication ability, in addition to accessing wider sources of information.”
Schoolchildren who excelled in the tuition programmes were given awards, namely Top Scorer, Super Speller and Homework Heroes. At the closing ceremony, schoolchildren from Standard One to Standard Six showcased their language ability through performances such as poem recitals and singing English or Malay songs.
Standard Four students performing If You’re Happy
Two Standard Six students reciting poems in Bahasa Malaysia
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