Education

Sunday August 13, 2006

Merit awards for the needy

MICROSOFT Malaysia gave out scholarships to 292 students under the Lions Club of CyberCare eCommunity programme for academic achievements last year.

The scholarships were awarded under the Microsoft Unlimited Potential Scholarship Awards Education Excellence Programme (MUPSA EEP).

This year, merit awards were given to 110 UPSR, 117 PMR, 61 SPM and four STPM students, a 27% increase in the number of recipients from the previous year.

Microsoft Malaysia public sector strategic engagement director Abdul Rahman Abu Haniffa said: “Our collaboration reinforces the passion for a mutual vision that we share with Lions Cybercare and the Education Ministry – the belief that every child should have the opportunity to a good foundation in education.”

MUPSA EEP operates as an incentive programme where the children from the Lions Cybercare network of homes are rewarded for their academic excellence in government examinations.

At the end of each year, the homes submit the names of students for the merit award based on the number of distinctions they achieve in their examinations.

The award consists of cash and cheque awards from Microsoft for each distinction the students obtain.

Since its inception, the number of students receiving the awards has been increasing each year.

As part of the programme, MUPSA EEP also distributes awards for the Best Student in each category of the government exam.

This year’s Best Student Award recipients include:

  • Nor Farhana Abdullah and Mohammad Sabri Suhari for UPSR, with 5As each;

  • Noor Sharifatul Hana, Mohd Firdaus Md Ibrahim and Rohashiela Abd Latif, with 8As each;

  • Mohd Hafizi Ahmad for SPM, who took home 4A1s and 4A2s;

    and

  • Normala Payagol who obtained 1A and 2Bs for STPM.

    Pertubuhan Kebajikan Anak Yatim Terengganu, better known as Asrama Perkaya, received the Best Home Award, achieving the highest average score for education excellence with 63 recipients from the home.

    Lions Club of Cybercare Kuala Lumpur patron Tan Sri Amar Leo Moggie applauded the collaborative effort spearheaded by Microsoft Malaysia.

    “Lions Cybercare and Microsoft have set an example for other collaborative efforts to follow. Indeed they have helped these poor students to continue their education,” he said.

    The collaboration between Microsoft and Lions Cybercare has benefited 90 homes and 5,000 students in Malaysia. About RM313,000 has been given to deserving students for their academic achievements.

    CyberCare is a national pilot programme under the National IT Council to nurture an eCommunity. The CyberCare eCommunity comprises children in homes, home administrators, the public sector, the private sector (corporate sponsors) and the community service sector (volunteers and NGOs).

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