By Suhaila Shahrul Annuar
HULU LANGAT, Oct 7 — The Selangor People’s Tuition Programme (PTRS) will assist an estimated 17,000 primary school pupils who have fallen behind in reading, writing, and arithmetic (3M) sometime next year.
Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari said this free learning initiative aims to address the literacy and numeracy gaps among primary school pupils.
The figure, obtained from the Selangor Education Department, mainly involves pupils from Year One to Year Three, who were affected by the limited access to school learning during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The data from the State Education Department involves primarily Year One, Two, and Three pupils who face issues with literacy and numeracy, most of whom were directly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“So, we are not just talking about a ‘lost generation,’ but now we are intervening through PTRS to ensure these students are trained and educated more efficiently and fluently,” he said after the launch of the Tekad Reformasi Pendidikan programme today, which was officiated by Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek.
Meanwhile, in his speech, Amirudin said over 120,000 Form Four and Form Five students across the state benefited from the free PTRS programme this year.
“PTRS not only successfully implements a teaching and supplementary education system but also builds an educational module developed by experts and teachers under the Selangor Education Department at a cost around ten times lower than what companies or external consultants offer.
“We have already seen results, as the state’s average grade for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia improved from 4.8 in 2022 to 4.67 last year,” he said.
The Menteri Besar also suggested expanding PTRS into the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector to spark early interest among students.
“TVET is typically pursued after school or later by students who are considered to have fewer opportunities to enter university. Perhaps we should introduce this module at the primary or lower secondary level and explore it further with the capabilities and expertise we have,” he said.
PTRS provides extra classes in Bahasa Melayu, English, Mathematics, Science, History, and Additional Mathematics for students from low-income families whose academic performance is average or weak.
In August, PTRS was enhanced with the development of an online application, e-PTRS, to make it easier for students to access learning materials.
