Maszlee on a mission to save 1,000 students from dropping out of school

 

Former education minister Maszlee Malik has launched a public sponsorship programme to save students from dropping out of schools during Covid-19 pandemic period.

His education movement - Untuk Malaysia - needs at least RM250 per child every month to keep his campaign going. He plans to help at least 1,000 children in the first stage.

Under the programme, each volunteer or teacher will be trained before embarking on their mission to teach the children to read, write and calculate, in the hope of saving them from dropping out of school. Each teacher will take care of two children residing within a 10km radius of their home.

"We still have children who can't read, write and calculate and they need to be saved. As such, we provide an intervention space," he said in a Facebook posting yesterday.

"On average, our children are estimated to have lost 185 schooling days (during the pandemic) This means, they will remain as dropouts without intervention," he said.

Untuk Malaysia first initiated the campaign by urging the public to fill up a form online to report about dropout cases in their neighbourhood. It was shocked to receive over 1,000 cases within 72 hours.

The volunteer, dubbed as "game changer", will help the children twice a week between February and November. Beside teaching the children basic skills, they will instil in the children an interest in education.

"To all Malaysians, let us save these 1,000 children from dropping out from their schools nationwide," said Maszlee, who is also Simpang Renggam MP.

"Share a little of your income to save them. Change their education, change their future. Sponsor these children," he said.

The movement estimated it will need at least RM240 to cover the cost for each student every month. Of the amount, RM160 will be for intervention cost and RM20 will be spent on teaching materials while the balance of RM60 will be used on welfare, operation and emergency purposes.

According to the Education Ministry data, as of July 31, 2020, there are 2,741,837 students enrolled at the primary level and 2,037,433 at the secondary level.

The Covid-19 pandemic and the various phases of movement control orders enforced since March have seen thousands of students nationwide being kept out of schools while taking online lessons from home.

A recent survey jointly commissioned by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) - targeting urban poor families in the Klang Valley - found fewer children returning to their classrooms when schools reopened in July.

As Malaysia battles with a third wave of the Covid-19 outbreak, it was announced earlier this month that all learning institutions under the Education Ministry will remain closed. Only those sitting for examinations are allowed to be present in school. - Mkini