KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 15 — Over 600 underprivileged students have been getting a little bit of extra help in preparation for their primary school evaluation test (UPSR), thanks to clinics organised in selected schools by Yayasan MRCB.

Organised by the philanthropic and corporate responsibility arm of Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad, participating schools include SK Iskandar Perdana (Perak), SK Pengkalan Jaya & SK Kuala Perai (Penang), SK Seksyen 7 Kota Damansara (Selangor) and SK Seri Bonus, SK La Salle Brickfields, SJK (T) Vivekananda (Kuala Lumpur).

The effort is part of the foundation’s core objectives to help the less fortunate in education.

Since the programme’s inception in 2015, the number of participating schools has increased from four to seven in 2019, covering various subjects including Mathematics, Science, English, and Bahasa Malaysia with specialist teachers engaged to help prepare students for the UPSR.

Students were tutored on techniques of answering, interpreting questions as well as effective time management to ensure that students are able to excel in their exams.

As a result, the overall passing rate for all subjects has shown improvements over the years, with recent figures pointing at a passing rate of over 70 per cent.

Moving forward, the foundation plans to expand the UPSR clinics to more schools as well as the intensity of tuitions.

Yayasan MRCB chairperson Datin Jasmine Abdullah Heng was recently present at a UPSR Clinics session at SK Seksyen 7 Kota Damansara in Petaling Jaya to mingle with the students and gather feedback from three participating schools.

“We believe that the children are the future of the nation and every child should be given every opportunity to succeed,” said Heng.

“Here at Yayasan MRCB, our Trustees and I strive hard to ensure that we continuously identify needy causes and evaluate their needs and undertake various programmes of value to provide support to enhance the students’ talents, improve their academic performances in order to lead a better quality of life in the future,” she added.

Besides the UPSR clinics, Yayasan MRCB has also conducted other programmes to help needy children.

In June 2019, the foundation launched a one-year free meal programme amounting to RM231,000 for 384 less fortunate students from 12 schools in five states of Federal Territories, Penang, Selangor, Perak, and Johor.

Other initiatives include the contribution of books, calculators, donations to 100 less fortunate families in Langkawi, conducting an educational programme for Orang Asli children, providing mobile clinics for the Orang Asli, implementing life-changing programmes for youths with disabilities, providing temporary accommodation for those caring for family members with prolonged illnesses as well as refurbishing schools for special needs children.

To date, the foundation has contributed over RM1 million to assist students and less fortunate communities across Malaysia.

In an effort to expand and sustain its programmes, Yayasan MRCB will be organising a charity concert in the Yannick Bovy Celebrates 100 Years of Nat King Cole on October 5 at Istana Budaya, Kuala Lumpur.

For more information on the concert, click here.