Perak govt organises extra classes, tuition, food aid for SPM students

IPOH, Feb 3 — The Perak government has introduced the “Program Tuisyen Cikgu Saarani” (TCS) initiative, or Teacher Saarani Tuition Programme, for those who will be sitting for their SPM examination later this month.

Mentri Besar Datuk Saarani Mohamad said the 15-day programme, which started on Monday, will help the 40,642 students who saw their 2020 SPM exams postponed to this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Through this programme, the Perak Education Department (JPN) will be organising additional classes and tuition by teachers and educators for critical subjects, namely Bahasa Malaysia, English, Mathematics and History.

“This programme will also include specific initiatives and assistance such as special food aid, mock exams, seminars on exam strategies and interactive video-based teaching,” he told reporters via Zoom today.

The 2020 SPM examination will commence on February 22.

Saarani said the programme encompasses a total of 244 schools around Perak and involves 488 teachers.

He said the extra classes and tuition will be held at their respective schools at 2.30pm and will end at the discretion of teachers and students.

“This is not a compulsory programme, but it’s certainly important for SPM students as some have yet to complete all their syllabuses due to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic last year,” he said.

Saarani also said the government had allocated RM2.71 million to cover the lunch expenses of 35,637 SPM students, who do not attend boarding schools, as well as their teachers, for the entire duration of the programme.

“The funds will be channelled to the schools’ parent-teacher associations and the food will be prepared by the canteen operators of the respective schools.

“Apart from using government funds, the allocation also includes financial contributions from state-owned companies, namely the Menteri Besar Corporation, Perak Water Board, State Development Corporation and State Agricultural Development Corporation,” he said.

In general, Saarani said that a total of 200,000 students will benefit from the TCS programme this year.

“Also benefiting directly from the TCS programme are the 37,894 students who will be sitting for main examinations in 2021, Form Four students (30,320), Form One students (31,761) and Year One students (31,742),” he said.

“Our main objective is to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds or the B40 group,” he added.