Amirudin (centre) launching the free tuition programme in Shah Alam. With him are Saipolyazan (left) and Jafri. — AZLINA ABDULLAH/The Star
SOME 65,000 SPM candidates in Selangor will receive free tuition in six subjects under the Selangor’s People’s Tuition Programme (PTRS).
PTRS is a RM6mil state initiative aimed at helping struggling students.
They will receive coaching in Bahasa Melayu, English, History, Science and Mathematics.
This year, Additional Mathematics has been added to the list.
The tuition programme began in 2009.
This year, 1,956 teachers have been roped in for PTRS.
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said the initiative would involve more than 270 schools statewide.
“The tuition classes are expected to start in August and lunch will also be provided for participating students,” he said during the programme launch at Dewan Raja Muda Musa in Section 7, Shah Alam.
He said PTRS was a corporate social responsibility initiative by Menteri Besar Inc (MBI), the state government’s investment arm.
PTRS will be enhanced this year with the introduction of ePTRS.
This is an online platform that provides sample questions and a virtual medium to facilitate student-teacher interactions.
Also at the launch were MBI chief operating officer Saipolyazan Mat Yusop and state education department director Dr Jafri Abu.
The event also saw the launch of Projek Mekar, a pilot project to distribute sanitary pads to secondary school girls.
Five schools are involved in the project to address period poverty.
The participating schools are SMK Sungai Tua (Gombak), SMK (Perempuan) Bukit Kuda (Klang), SMK Kapar (Kapar), SMK Putra Perdana (Sepang) and SMK Kuala Selangor (Kuala Selangor).
Under Projek Mekar, vending machines with sanitary pads will be placed at selected schools.
The free sanitary pads will be supplied for one year.
There will also be talks held by feminine product manufacturer Kotex to improve period hygiene awareness among female students.
Amirudin said the state government, under Budget 2023, has allocated RM200,000 for Projek Mekar.
