KUANTAN: Media Prima Bhd's (MPB) initiative to provide continuous assistance to Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) examination candidates at SK Cherating here has brought tremendous benefits to the pupils.
SK Cherating's co-curricular and administration senior teacher Mazalina Mohamad described the school’s UPSR candidates as “very fortunate”, saying that since MPB adopted the school under the Pintar programme two years ago, a series of education seminars, motivation programmes and learning aids have been organised for the pupils.
She said the pupils were given the opportunity to participate in an English workshop organised by the New Straits Times’ (NST) Newspaper-in-Education (NIE), and utilised Berita Harian's pullout Didik as teaching and learning material.
"The programmes and learning materials helped to improve the pupils' English proficiency and prepare them for the real examination. They have been exposed to various types of questions, attended tuition classes at the school, and studied in groups with the aim of ensuring that they score well.
"The series of weekly tuition classes and motivational talks has come to an end, and as the last stage of the pupils’ preparations before the examination next week, MPB organised a prayer session to seek God’s blessings yesterday," she said when met after the "Restu Ilmu and Solat Hajat" programme last night.
Mazalina said MPB’s strong support for the UPSR pupils, who come from various backgrounds, has given the candidates an extra motivational boost to perform well in the examination.
"Apart from the efforts and lessons taught at school, MPB has organised various programmes over the past nine months, and the pupils often look forward to attend them. The tuition classes, similar to private tuition sessions, have been a major help as there are no tuition centres in Cherating.
"Besides tuition classes, MPB also brought speakers to motivate the candidates and held various examination-related activities. Candidates answered previous years' question papers and took part in trial tests to familiarise themselves with the real examination," she said.
Yesterday’s prayer session, led by Cherating mosque head Mustafa Yusof, was joined by around 200 people, including teachers, parents and the respective UPSR candidates.
Mohd Haikal Remezy, who is among the 120 UPSR candidates from SK Cherating, said he enjoyed the series of workshops and motivational programmes, as it offered tips on how to prepare for the examination, which would help him do well.
"All the hard work and sacrifice will be put to the test during the examination next week, and I would like to thank MPB for preparing us for the UPSR," he said.