Donation to SJK(T) Ladang Riverside

EWRF officials visited SJK(T) Ladang Riverside, an estate school located in the interior of Kuala Selangor on 27 June 2007. After a one hour’s drive and upon entering the school compound, we were convinced that the drive there was worth the effort.

We saw the headmistress, Datin Jayam, as a determined and focused person. Her primary concern was to uplift the education status of the students in her school. She said that, currently, there are 68 students in the school and most of them are very weak in their studies. Apart from that, they do not have additional workbooks except for the ones provided by the school. Like most parents from the lower income group, parents of the students in the school do not play an active role in their childrens’ education thus making it a challenge for the teachers and her.

Determined to take up the challenge, together with her teachers, the weaker students are now given extra classes after school hours. With these additional classes, Datin Jayam hopes that her students’ performance would escalate this year as opposed to previous years when only 11% of the students who sat for the UPSR examination passed.

During the discussion she said that many of the students in the school came from the lower the income group whereby the parents earned an average income of between RM60.00 to RM600.00 per month. After knowing their financial setback, she took her own initiative to secure financial assistance for them from Kumpulan Wang Amanah Pelajar Miskin (KWAMP). Her efforts paid off when 46 students from the school were given RM450 each. Bravo to Datin Jayam.

She then requested EWRF to organise a talk with all the parents in the school in order to make the parents fully aware of the importance of education and their roles in providing support towards their children’s education. Mr Ron Selvan has agreed that the EWRF TTDI branch will organize the talk on 5 August 2007 and an experienced speaker will be invited to give a talk to the parents.

EWRF then donated a sum of RM2,000 to upgrade the school facilities. Being a partially aided school they do not receive sufficient funding from the government. Present at the cheque presentation ceremony was Datin Jayam, Parents Teachers Association (PTA) Chairman Mr Chandrasekar, Ms Subita Nair, Executive Director of EWRF, Mr Ron Selvan, EWRF TTDI Chairman/ Central Committee Member and Mr Manikam Krishnan, EWRF Manager.