BOTTOM 40 (B40) schoolchildren in the Petaling Jaya constituency have been given a lifeline for their studies, which have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, through a free programme, “Tuition For A Cause”.

Lawmaker Maria Chin Abdullah, who launched it today, said most pupils in the B40 community could not follow online learning during the pandemic due to lack of devices and internet access.

“That’s why this programme is being initiated. As for now we have 62 pupils between the ages of seven and 17 who have enrolled for this free tuition,” she said during the launch at the Petaling Jaya City Council community hall today.

Maria said the pupils are mostly from Section 17 and Kg Baru Damansara.

She and Petaling Jaya city councillor Bryan Ng Yih Miin started the initiative and sought the contribution of devices and online learning materials from YTL Foundation.

The tuition classes will be held every Saturday for 90 minutes. 

Ng said that due to social distancing requirements, only eight students can attend it physically while the remaining will join in on the Zoom platform.

Volunteer teacher Andrew Chai said the programme would be a great opportunity for pupils to catch up on their studies as they have missed out on school for almost a year.

“Most of these pupils here have issues when it comes to electronic devices and also financial issues. They will benefit a lot from this even if it is a once-a-week lesson,” said the 26-year-old, whose full-time job is as a data analyst at a bank.

Another volunteer teacher, Moses Veda, 23 said he viewed teaching as a mission rather than a job.

“I can’t wait to start to have a part in helping these kids. Teachers have two weeks from now to prepare for classes that will start on May 8.”

Meanwhile, mother of two Aminah Bakri, 44, welcomed the programme, saying it would help her children who missed a lot of their studies last year.

“Throughout last year, my children were learning online and found it difficult to focus without physical classes. I’m thankful for this opportunity.

“My husband and I are working. With this, at least I have someone to monitor my children when they are studying,” she said.

Housewife Diam Safita, 44, said her children had been using her smartphone for online classes during lockdowns. She is grateful they will now have the chance to use laptops.

“I have enrolled my three children for this programme as I cannot afford private tuition classes. My eldest will be sitting for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia so she will surely benefit.” – April 24, 2021.