By Siti Rohaizah Zainal
SHAH ALAM, Dec 30 — The Selangor People's Tuition Programme (PTRS) will be expanded to include Tamil vernacular schools by early next year, said Menteri Besar Dato' Seri Amirudin Shari.
He said the free learning initiative was formulated to overcome the problem of education dropouts in the state's Indian community.
"The programme is expected to begin in March, according to the timing, and is expected to benefit some 2,000 students.
"The syllabus is already prepared, but it will be necessary to provide funding to the teachers for equipment and the like, as well as midday meals for the students. One of the locations that has been identified is Desa Mentari," Amirudin said.
The Menteri Besar was speaking at closing ceremony of the 'Capacity Building' Gerak Gempur Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) 2022 event, organised by the Selangor Indian Community Consultative Council (SICC) at SKJ(T) Ladang Midlands yesterday.
The state's Indian Community Relations Special Officer Dr Gunaraj George was also in attendance.
Over 25,000 students from low-income families received PTRS benefits throughout 2022, after the initiative was extended to include primary school students.
RM7 million in funds has been provided by the state government to realise the programme for this year. PTRS was first introduced to help students follow online learning when the Covid-19 pandemic hit Malaysia.
