A GROUP of volunteers is making education more accessible to the Orang Asli with Kelas Kaseh, free and informal tuition classes at the weekends in Semenyih and Dengkil.

Founder and coordinator Mohd Khairul Azkar said the classes provided an opportunity for them to improve their future through education.

“What stops them from studying is their mentality. They feel that education would not be able to change their lives. We want to encourage them to keep learning so they could improve their condition,” said Khairul.

He said some of the children did not have identification cards, which made it difficult for them to attend school, while those who did go to school had a tendency to drop out due to an inability to mix with others not of the native tribes.

Money was also an issue, which was why the classes were provided free, he said.

“They cannot afford tuition classes so Kelas Kaseh is where they can gain knowledge,” said the 27-year-old production engineer.

The initiative began in September 2015 in Kampung Sungai Buah, Dengkil.

Kelas Kaseh provides reading, Mathematics and English classes for students in Standard One to Form Five. One volunteer attends to one student in each class to ensure effective learning and comprehensiom.

On Sunday, 25 Orang Asli students were waiting for class to start at Surau Al-Ikhlas at Sungai Buah at 9.30am

Mathematics was taught from 10am to 11am, followed by English from 11.15am to noon.

During the 15-minute interval between the two subjects, students chatted comfortably with their volunteers over snacks prepared by the Kelas Kaseh coordinators.

The volunteers have done a fine job in motivating the students, an example of which is Nur Suhadah Rosli, who received the best Orang Asli student award in Selangor last year.

The 13-year-old was not fond of Mathematics and English prior to Kelas Kaseh and admitted that the weekly classes have made a steep improvement in her grades.

“Without Kelas Kaseh, my grades would not have improved as much,” said Suhadah, surrounded by friends after class.

Azam Jo is grateful to the volunteers for correcting his mistakes in English, which has made him more confident in speaking the language.

“It was difficult for me to get my grammar and vocabulary right.

“I have attended the classes every week since 2015 and it has made a major improvement to my grasp of the language,” said the Form Five student of SMK Bandar Seri Putra.

He is also glad the classes are free and does not add to his parents’ burden.

Kelas Kaseh volunteers are mostly university students. Siti Nor Aqilah Mohammad Fadzil was volunteering for the seventh time and she said the students were all keen on learning something new every week.

“As volunteers, we guide them to answer the questions on the handbook given to them and most of the time they are confident in tackling the questions.

“They are truly keen on learning and this is a great platform for them to gain knowledge,” said Siti who is a student at Universiti Putra Malaysia.

Kelas Kaseh is held every Saturday at Surau Nur Iman, Kachau Dalam, Ulu Semenyih and Sunday at Surau Al-Ikhlas, Sungai Buah , Dengkil. Both sessions start at 9.30am and end at 12.30pm. – July 17, 2017.