![To reduce the learning gap and reignite the students’ passion for learning, Tzu Chi KL & Selangor launched the “i∙didik” programme, offering free online tuition to children of its care recipients who're attending primary or secondary school. [Photo courtesy of Ong Sook Hwei]](/images/Articles/CS/2022/202211_001.jpg "To reduce the learning gap and reignite the students’ passion for learning, Tzu Chi KL & Selangor launched the “i∙didik” programme, offering free online tuition to children of its care recipients who're attending primary or secondary school. [Photo courtesy of Ong Sook Hwei]")
Students in Malaysia have endured more than 41 weeks of school closure throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Although teaching and learning activities continued through online platforms, many students, especially those from marginalized families, did not have appropriate devices and Internet connectivity to support learning. Consequently, their studies were severely disrupted, and some have lost their interest in learning after the long struggle.
To remedy this, Tzu Chi KL & Selangor launched “i∙didik” programme to provide free online tuition to children of its care recipients, who are attending primary or secondary school. The children were free to enrol for any two out of the three subjects offered, namely Malay, English, and Mathematics; while the Humanistic Culture lesson was compulsory for all.
Members of the teaching team came from all over Malaysia. Those selected were trained by the programme’s Subject Support Team before taking up the tuition teacher role. Some of them opted for half-pay, while others are happy to volunteer for free.
After three months of preparation involving more than 250 volunteers, the online tuition commenced officially on January 3 this year with 73 tuition teachers and 193 students eager to begin the journey. Not unexpected, teething issues arose, such as inadequate facilities, unstable or slow Internet connection, absent students, and more.
To keep attendance up, the volunteers invited the teachers to make tele-calls to the students’ families. This enabled the teachers to understand their students’ conditions and their need for care and love; and at the same time, helped the students to better appreciate the classes. The programme team also joined hands with the charity team to solve any issues encountered by the students.
Woon Yann Tyng, a former corporate executive, was tasked to teach Primary 5 Malay language. When she learnt that one of her students, Tarshani, had lost her father to Covid-19, she felt deeply for the girl and requested to join the charity team’s visit to Tarshani’s family. The girl was pleasantly surprised to see her teacher and receive the reading and drawing materials from her.
Teacher Woon was happy to see her students gaining confidence in expressing their views, and to be acknowledged by the parents. Having participated in other Tzu Chi activities, such as recycling, charity home visits and disaster relief since last year, she said, “In the past, I needed to prove myself at the workplace, and was ill-tempered. I have learned a lot in Tzu Chi and I am in much better mood nowadays.”
The students have not only improved academically, but also in their attitude and character thanks to the fortnightly humanistic culture lessons. For example, they would be punctual, and would sit upright and listen to lessons attentively. Many parents also gave positive feedbacks during the online Parents’ Day.
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The “i∙didik” programme will continue into 2023. Hopefully, the teachers’ love and dedication will continue to empower the students to take ownership of their learning and achieve greater heights.
