School Education Programme
PINTAR, a programme spearheaded by Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the investment holding arm of the Government of Malaysia, was launched in December 2006.
UEM Land has adopted 17 schools within Nusajaya, in Iskandar Malaysia, under the PINTAR programme. Since 2007, UEM Land has implemented six key initiatives to accomplish the objectives and aspirations of PINTAR using an intervention approach to influence better educational outcomes for underserved students in predominantly rural locations in Malaysia, through Promoting Intelligence, Nurturing Talent and Advocating Responsibility.
The programmes developed by UEM Land based on PINTAR’s key tenets include the Academic Excellence Programme, ICT Knowledge and Appreciation Programme, Microchip Controller Project, the English Programme, the Green School project, Road Safety Programme, the National Day Campaign, the Hygiene Talk Programme, the Spell-it-Right Programme and the Learning Centre Project, to contribute to the holistic development: academically, psychologically and ethically of PINTAR students in Nusajaya. Another significant Corporate Social Responsibility programme initiated by UEM Land is the Pintar Al-Quran programme for pre-school children.
UEM Land’s Academic Excellence Programme
UEM Land’s Academic Excellence Programme aims to help raise the academic performance of students in Nusajaya. Since the programme was established in 2007, UEM Land has been supporting school activities, especially those designed to help students achieve academic excellence. Examination seminars and clinics, tuition classes, motivational and curriculum camps are amongst the main programmes conducted for the benefit of the students. In addition, the motivational talks and sessions which included interaction with parents were carefully planned and organised to educate them on the importance of education hence encouraging parents to support and motivate their children to strive for academic excellence.
Under the Academic Excellence Programme, UEM Land helps its PINTAR schools to prepare their students who will be sitting for UPSR, PMR and SPM examinations through seminars and workshops conducted by experienced teachers and professional trainers in strategic collaboration with Berita Harian.
The efforts and commitment made by UEM Land thus far has received commendable recognition from the schools as well as the Johor Bahru District Education Department (PPDJB).
For instance, the exam seminars and clinics conducted in collaboration with Berita Harian to help prepare students sitting for UPSR, PMR and SPM examinations have, for the past three years, achieved the desired outcomes and recorded significant improvements in academic performance as more students obtained straight A’s, year after year.
ICT Knowledge and Appreciation Programme
UEM Land’s ICT Knowledge and Appreciation Programme seeks to create awareness on the importance of ICT usage and to develop IT skills amongst the upper primary and secondary school children. With the long term objective of helping to bridge the digital divide between the urban and rural communities, the programme focuses on IT literacy and the competent usage of computers.
Under the programme, activities organised include training workshops and ICT Carnival. The ICT Training was organised for UEM Land’s PINTAR School students and teachers. Students were trained to use IT software and to use the internet as a learning medium whilst the teachers’ training was aimed at improving their proficiency in ICT and empowering them to, in turn, train their students in ICT.
More than fifty PINTAR school teachers and 3,200 students from UEM Land’s PINTAR primary and secondary schools have benefitted from this programme.
The ICT Carnival for Nusajaya zone aims to expose the surrounding communities, especially the school communities, to the current trends in ICT and to showcase each school’s respective ICT projects. It was first organised in May 2009 at SMK Tg. Adang and SK Tg. Adang, Gelang Patah and had attracted over 1,000 visitors comprising students, teachers and members of the local community.
On 11th May 2011, the 2nd ICT Carnival was organised in collaboration with Johor Bahru District Education Department (PPDJB) and State Education Department (JPNJ). The carnival was also held in conjunction with ‘Semarak Mahkota Pendidikan’, one of the programmes planned by JPNJ to build closer rapport between the Palace and the students, by making His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Johor, Tunku Ismail Idris ibni Sultan Ibrahim Ismail as an icon to all the students in Johor and additionally to be the patron of the students’ programmes. The carnival, held at SMK Taman Nusa Jaya, saw the participation of more than 3,000 students and teachers from more than thirty schools around Johor Bahru.
Microchip Controller Project
Another key initiative under the PINTAR programme is the Microchip Controller Project, a project fully funded and sponsored by UEM Group and organised by UEM Land in collaboration with the renowned research university, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). This programme aims to develop the interest and creativity of students using a technology platform. This programme is also a part of UEM Land’s strategic efforts to promote a sustainable ICT community to benefit the Malaysian community and industry at large.
The programme which commenced in December 2009 is executed over two years. A programme of forty students per intake from two participating UEM Land’s PINTAR secondary schools - SMK Taman Nusa Jaya and SMK Kompleks Sultan Abu Bakar required the apprentices to undergo several workshops in UKM to guide them to develop and complete their prototypes. During the workshops, the students are divided into groups and each group is assigned an advisor who is a lecturer and a mentor, who is a UKM undergraduate whose responsibility is to guide the students to develop their own innovative ideas for their project of building a prototype.
The first batch had successfully completed their projects with the installation workshop held at the two respective schools in November 2010, where students were given an opportunity to unveil their creative inventions, which among others included the Intelligent System for BMI System, i-ampaian (sure dry), i-board, Auto Shield, i-itik, Cyber Smart Stick, KK Walk Thru, Automatic Gate, Accurate Break System and Smart Coin Dispenser. These innovative inventions were showcased to the public at the ICT Carnival, co-organised by PPDJB and UEM Land, on 11 May 2011.
Whilst the second batch students who started their induction course on 15 & 16 March had successfully completed creating eight prototypes; Automatic Garbage Basket, Green “OXO”), Intelligent Sprinkler, i-shower, i-pcf (personal fan), Intelligent Toilet, Smart Fan and i-trolley - in February 2012.
The English Programme
The English programme, a project sponsored and organised by UEM Land with the assistance of British Council kicked off in March 2010. This programme is part of UEM Land’s on-going quest to help develop and engender an English-proficient community in all UEM Land’s PINTAR schools. To-date, the programme has benefitted more than 100 teachers from UEM Land’s 17 PINTAR Schools around Gelang Patah district.
The objective of the English programme is to help train teachers of both the primary and secondary schools, to enhance their pedagogic and teaching skills as well as develop and boost their confidence in teaching English to students. The programme also helps to identify the gaps and improvements that are needed to help the teachers improve in their English language and teaching skills.
The trainings and workshops provided teachers with new teaching techniques and approaches which are relevant and applicable to be carried out in Malaysian English classroom to support the teachers’ role in improving the language proficiency of its students.
In addition to the teacher-training, UEM Land has also initiated a strategic partnership with The STAR Publication Malaysia Berhad to inculcate the reading habit and improve English proficiency among PINTAR students via The Star Newspaper in Education (NiE) programme. Under this programme, UEM Land contributed more than RM20,000 annually as sponsorship for the exclusive The Star-NiE supplement, which is published every Wednesday, is distributed to all 17 of UEM Land’s PINTAR schools weekly. To leverage on the programme, in 2012, UEM Land also sponsored copies of stuff@school distributed by The Star Publications on every Monday, targeted at secondary school students to four of UEM Land’s PINTAR secondary schools.
It is envisioned that this programme will provide an effective means for teachers to inculcate English speaking habit among the students. In addition, it will help the teachers to explore a new and interesting dimension to teaching and the students a more creative and innovative way of learning the language through the use of newspapers. Additionally, special NiE workshops are conducted for all UEM Land’s PINTAR schools English teachers and students to provide better appreciation and insights on the techniques and approaches to maximise the benefits of this programme.
The Green School Project
Project ‘Sekolah Hijau’ is a programme organised in collaboration with Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). The programme, established in 2010, aims to create and raise awareness of climate change amongst the general public especially the young school children. The programme was developed based on the concept of ’smart and caring living’, one of the key tenets of the Nusajaya Environment Master Plan launched in December 2009. It also serves as an avenue to inculcate green habits, modifying behaviour as well as developing an eco-friendly society in Nusajaya.
The Green Programme launched by Vice Chancellor of UKM, Prof. Tan Sri Dato’ Dr. Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin on 24th April 2010, comprises of two phases - Climate Change Programme (Phase 1) and Composting Programme (Phase 2). The Climate Change Programme was first implemented in 2010 at three selected UEM Land’s PINTAR primary schools (SK Taman Nusa Perintis 1, SK Nusantara and SK Tiram Duku) as a pilot project.The Climate Change Programme is now extended to the other 10 UEM Land’s PINTAR primary schools. To-date, the programme which is targeted at Year 4 and Year 5 saw more than 1,000 students’ participations.
In addition, a new initiative called Composting Programme was introduced in May 2011 as Phase 2 of the Green School Programme. The Composting Programme is aimed at educating the young school children on the importance of responsible solid waste disposal and the environmental advantages of composting. For this initiative, 2-3 compost bins are placed at five UEM Land’s PINTAR primary schools. The programme is closely monitored and supervised by UKM, and scheduled visits are conducted on a quarterly basis.
In tandem with UEM Land’s on-going efforts to cultivate the green habit among school children, UEM Land contributed 22 units of recycle bins to all 17 UEM Land’s PINTAR schools as well as five UEM Land’s adopted KEMAS kindergartens in 2010.
Road Safety Programme
The Road Safety Programme is a new programme introduced by UEM Land in 2011 under PINTAR- Advocating Responsibility tenet. The Road Safety Programme aims to educate and train the young school children with the appropriate knowledge, skills and practical safety prevention measures to enable them to identify traffic hazards and self-regulate their behaviour based on inherent risks in the road and traffic environment. Additionally, the programme aims to inculcate road safety consciousness amongst the public, starting with young children.
Targeted at primary school children, the programme was organised in collaboration with PLUS Expressway Bhd (PLUS), Johor Bahru Road Safety Department (JKJR) and Johor Bahru Police Traffic Department. More than 200 Year 5 students participated in the inaugural road safety awareness programme held at SK Kompleks Abu Bakar on 23rd April 2011.
The National Day Campaign Programme
As a responsible corporate citizen, UEM Land introduced its National Day Campaign Programme at all its 17 PINTAR schools in Gelang Patah district in 2011. The programme is part of UEM Land’s strategic initiatives to support the Government’s efforts to instill the spirit of patriotism, promoting multi-racial integration and unity amongst the younger generation especially the school students. The programme also aims to create a greater sense of pride of the historical events by highlighting its significance and importance to inspire its PINTAR students to become historically profound future leaders.
The National Day Campaign programme is designed based on students’ competency with several exciting yet educational competitions such as drawing competition, essay writing competition and mural drawing competition. It is divided into three main categories – Primary School Students category, Secondary School Students category and School category. The campaign received overwhelming response from UEM Land’s PINTAR students, teachers and schools. Winners from each category were presented with attractive cash prizes and certificate of participations in a special prize giving ceremony held as a culmination of the programme.
The Hygiene Talk Programme
Another new initiative introduced under PINTAR- Advocating Responsibility tenet is the Hygiene Talk programme. The programme organised in association with Columbia Asia Hospital, Nusajaya, aims to promote and educate the young school children on the importance of personal hygiene, self-care and healthy living. Targeted at Year 3 and Year 4 students, the two-hour hygiene talk provides students with several basic hygiene skills and practices which amongst others include proper hand washing techniques, good oral (dental) hygiene and good bathing hygiene. The inaugural hygiene talk programme registered 180 of Year 3 and Year 4 participations from 13 UEM Land’s PINTAR primary schools.
The Spell-it-Right Programme
Committed to develop a holistic development of its PINTAR students, UEM Land in 2011 organised a spelling bee competition programme known as ‘Spell-it-Right’ Contest under its CSR-Education programme in 2011. This programme is also a part of UEM Land on-going quests to develop and engender an English-proficient community in all UEM Land’s PINTAR schools. The programme organised in collaboration with Johor Bahru District Education Department (PPDJB) aims to help its PINTAR schools’ students to improve their spelling skills and master their spelling foundation. In addition, the programme is also aims to enhance students’ vocabularies, develop correct English language and encourage students to learn the language. Hence, the programme also provides an opportunity for teachers and students to be involved in an education event outside the classroom. The ‘Spell-it-Right’ Contest programme is divided in two broad categories – Year 5 and Year 6 and consisted of three sessions: preliminary session, knock out session and best speller session.
The Learning Centre Enhancement Project
As part of UEM Land’s CSR’s initiatives to help raise the academic performance and to inculcate good reading habits amongst Malaysian students particularly its PINTAR students in Nusajaya, in 2011, UEM Land embarked on a special programme known as the Learning Centre Enhancement Project based on perceptive understanding that the school library plays a significant role in promoting and bringing desired results in schools’ academic performances as it provides information, broaden knowledge, inculcates ideas and develops comprehension that are essential in today’s information and knowledge based society through profuse and constructive reading habits.
The programme is established to enable its PINTAR schools’ students and teachers to have easy access to valuable knowledge resource – books. Under this programme, UEM Land considerately purchased and contributed reading materials and library equipments such as book trolley, stools, wallpaper, carpet, banners and posters. In addition, UEM Land also engaged private organisations to help redesigning the library, to create conducive, warmth and pleasant reading atmosphere. For this programme, one school will be selected every year and the selection is based on priority and most needful basis.
The Pre-School Pintar Al-Quran Programme
Established in 2008, the idea of an Al-Quran reading programme was first mooted by the Board of Bandar Nusajaya Development Sdn Bhd, based on the belief that Al-Quran learning is a key element in the life of a Muslim.
While exploring ways to implement this programme, we found that Yayasan Islam Terengganu (YIT) had successfully implemented its Pintar Al-Quran Education programme since 2006, where Terengganu created history when more than 900 of its pre-schools successfully read the entire Al-Quran during the Khatam Al-Quran ceremony, proof of the programme’s success. This accomplishment was duly listed in the Malaysian Book of Records.
The key philosophy of this programme is to educate the young children to become Al-Quran literate as well as adopting the Al-Quran fundamental values in their daily life as early as five-six years old. The Al-Quran reading classes are conducted daily for one hour on school days and are offered free for the pre-schoolers. UEM Land’s Pintar Al-Quran programme underlines the following objectives:
- To contribute to capacity building
- To build a strong spiritual foundation among the pre-school children prior to their entering the first stage of their education in the Primary School through early exposure on the core of Islamic values to be practiced among the future generation of Nusajaya community
- To instil interest in the pre-school children towards Al-Quran at the tender age of 5 and 6 years old through interactive teaching activities
- To develop “Ulul-Albab” (Al-Quran literate) generation in Nusajaya
Since its inception, this programme has recorded notable achievements as the number of al-Quran literate children who graduated has increased.
The collaboration between UEM Land and YIT on this programme officially ended in December 2010. In 2011, the roles which were previously performed by YIT in providing the assistance, support, supervision and teaching paraphernalia for UEM Land’s Pintar Al-Quran programme are now shouldered by Jabatan Agama Johor (JAJ), who was previously responsible to assess and recommend the professional teaching workforce of this programme to UEM Land. The programme will now adopt the approach, teaching and learning materials as well as techniques developed by JAJ.