Subang Jaya: Eco World Foundation welcomed the New Year with its Excellence Awards presentations for the Central Region under its Students Aid Programme (SAP) to reward top scorers in last year’s UPSR & PT3 examinations.

The presentations are being made in 4 different regions – Southern, Northern, Central and Eastern (Sabah).  For the Southern region, the presentation was held in Johor Bahru on the first week of January, the session for the Northern region took place last week while the final session for the Eastern (Sabah) region will be held mid-February.

At the ceremony in Subang Jaya today, Eco World Foundation Chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye congratulated the thirty-eight (38) UPSR and three (3) PT3 students for their excellent performance in last year’s examinations.

Eight (8) of the students (7 UPSR and 1 PT3) received the Excellence Awards; nine (9) UPSR were recipients in the Outstanding Awards category; and twenty-two (22) UPSR and two (2) PT3 students received awards in the Most Improved category.

The UPSR students also received a Malay-English dictionary and a motivational book titled “A+B=C Attitude + Behaviour = Character” each, along with cash prizes of RM200, RM150 and RM100, according to their respective categories while the PT3 students received cash prizes of RM500, RM400 and RM250 respectively.

Eleven (11) teachers were presented with the Teachers Award, recognising them for their unwavering commitment and dedication to the SAP programme and their involvement in its activities. Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (Cina) Kwong Hon, Kuala Lumpur – won the Best School award prize of RM10,000.00 in the Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (Cina) category for its relentless support of the SAP programme.

“The UPSR Excellence Awards presentations are held every year to encourage our students to continue to work hard and to reaffirm the Foundation’s commitment in supporting and assisting those in need to achieve their dreams all the way from primary to tertiary education,” said Lee.

“The SAP, which is the main focus of the Foundation, was conceptualised to assist students from low income families, regardless of race or creed. The holistic approach of the SAP is to address every aspect of a student’s educational requirements, from equipping them for the new school year and arranging meals in school to paying their school and tuition fees,” he added.

Primary students receive between RM1,100 and RM1,200 a year while secondary students receive between RM1,000 and RM1,400. Pre-university students receive RM5,000 a year while those undertaking foundation studies receive between RM5,500 and RM13,500. Undergraduates on the other hand, receive between RM8,000 and RM20,000 yearly for their tertiary studies.

Lee said the Foundation was proud that thirteen (13) students under the SAP have thus far graduated with degrees from several esteem institutions of higher learning while thirty-one (31) others are currently pursuing their studies in local universities. 400 students are currently in secondary schools and 2,600 are in primary schools respectively.

“It is my ardent wish that the Foundation will be able to assist more students in the coming years,” said Lee.

“While we place importance on the examination results, we also hope that our students will grow up to be responsible adults who will then give back to society and the country. Attention is also given to the personal development of each and every student under the programme whereby home visits are conducted by the Foundation and executed by the volunteers, who are EcoWorld staff, to check in on their home environment and give moral support to the parents,” added Lee.

Dialogue sessions are also held with parents to explain the Foundation’s assistance programme and have any queries attended to.  At these sessions, parents also have the opportunity to provide suggestions and feedback for the betterment of the programme.

Lee said the full support of parents was needed to ensure the success of the programme and encouraged them to make time for their children. “We need to set a good example for them to follow as they are our future leaders,” he added.

The awards ceremony was also attended by Eco World Foundation Trustee Tan Sri Mohd Radzi bin Sheikh Ahmad and Mr Philip Mathews; EcoWorld Development Group Berhad Executive Director Dato’ Voon Tin Yow and Eco World International Chief Executive Officer and President of Eco World International Berhad Dato’ Teow Leong Seng.