Three schools in Tapah, Perak received approximately RM180,000 from AEON’s Basic Education Support (BEST) Project to enable the schools to renovate and refurbish to create a conducive learning environment for the students. The selected schools were SK Batu Tujuh and SK Batu 14 in Tapah, and SK Pos Dipang in Kampar, which received RM100,000, RM50,000 and RM30,000 respectively.
The BEST Project was first introduced in 2012 under the ‘With All Our Hearts’ Malaysian AEON Foundation umbrella to provide basic education needs for school children. The three pilot schools last year in Bau, Sarawak received approximately RM430,000 from BEST.
“The Foundation has always been proactive in raising funds and providing financial aid that benefits all Malaysians especially the children, and with BEST, we believe that in transforming a child’s education environment, we are able to transform their lives for a better future,” said Dato’ Abdullah Mohd Yusof, President of Malaysian AEON Foundation.
Besides having good teachers and a proper education programme, the learning environment also plays a vital role in improving students’ active participation and the effectiveness of teaching. “A proper learning environment includes the physical condition of the schools such as the arrangement and layout, hygiene, construction and use of learning resources. This is what we plan to achieve with these schools,” added Dato’ Abdullah Mohd Yusof at the handover ceremony at SK Batu Tujuh.
The event kicked off at SK Batu Tujuh whereby the school officially received two air-conditioned cabins to be used as classrooms, a tennis court, a water retention pond, and books. The water retention pond is the only water source to the school and it was broken until the BEST team stepped in to repair and enlarge it.
According to Puan Hamidah Majid, the headmistress of SK Batu Tujuh, prior to this, the school had only 15 classrooms and was unable to hold all 496 students comfortably. “Thanks to the BEST Project, the new cabins will now provide a conducive learning environment for the students in Standards 3 and 5,” she said.
On the other hand, both SK Batu 14 and SK Pos Dipang received a refurbished library with new books, stage cum assembly area, and toilets. The canteen in SK Batu 14 was also given a facelift with new structure, tables and chairs; where else the computer lab in SK Pos Dipang was upgraded with new wiring, LCD screen and projector.
According to Dato’ Haji Mazlan bin Mohamad, Director of School Management Division from the Ministry of Education, these schools were selected by the Ministry because they needed help improving their facilities to provide a better learning environment for the students. “We are very thankful to Malaysian AEON Foundation because the BEST project has made a difference and enriched the lives of these children,” he further added.
