SHAH ALAM, March 6 — The Selangor People’s Tuition Programme (PTRS) will continue to be improved, with the development of digital learning through a smartphone application, said Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.
He said that the development of the application, implemented this year, will give more access for students to follow the content and learn more openly, especially those who will sit for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations.
Amirudin added that the programme was also improved with the provision of a live video channel, aimed at facilitating direct communication between teachers and students.
“This is the result of internal skills, involving the collaboration of the state education department and the Menteri Besar Selangor (Incorporated) or MBI,” he said, in his reply to a question from Dr R Gunarajah (PH-Sentosa), regarding the implementation of PTRS for 2024, at the Selangor State Assembly sitting here today.
Amirudin said that the state government is aiming for 130,000 students to benefit from the improved programme this year, double the number of 65,000 participants who followed the programme last year.
He added that PTRS was also extended to form four students from 277 secondary schools, including religious schools, whose families earn less than RM5,000 a month.
“In this regard, MBI also plans for an intervention for primary school pupils who are experiencing 3M (reading, writing, counting) problems, among other things due to the spread of Covid-19, to prevent groups of students being left out,” he said.
Introduced in 2009, PTRS is additional tuition for Bahasa Melayu, English, Mathematics, Science, History and Additional Mathematics for students from low-income families, whose academic performance is average or poor.
In addition to the learning module, PTRS also provides allowances to 1,956 teachers and coordinators involved, while students from 277 schools who participate in the programme are provided with a lunch. — Bernama