RYTHM Foundation helps rural school improve learning with smartboard sponsorship

When headmaster S. Jaya Kumar was transferred to the SJKT Kampung Simee Ipoh, Perak in Malaysia, he was determined to incorporate technology into the school’s teaching methods. The school is listed under the Malaysian government’s school transformational programme 2025 (TS25). It is an initiative to increase student success in schools through effective leadership, competent teachers and strong commitment of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA). Under the initiative, the schools are given the autonomy to design their own methods as different schools have their own unique issues and problems.

“Since the school is also listed under the TS25, I wanted the introduce technology into our teaching. I wanted to start by getting a smartboard for the school. I approached the school’s PTA and they agreed, and we began to collect donations for it,” he said.

While they managed to raise some funds, it wasn’t enough for a smartboard, which is an interactive white board with multimedia capabilities that makes lessons visually interesting and engaging. The school then approached RYTHM Foundation for help. Under the Gift of Life initiative, RYTHM Foundation supports underfunded government schools, orphanages and welfare institutions for the disabled and disadvantaged. The Foundation agreed to sponsor the remaining cost for the smartboard. About 70% of the 200 students in the school come from B40 family backgrounds. B40 or Bottom 40 is the income classification used to categorise Malaysian families who fall in the lower 40% household income strata. Jaya Kumar said although the school had its own computer room with 36 personal computers, more than half the machines were not working properly and were under maintenance. Since the installation of the smartboard, the students are very excited to watch their lessons on video using the smartboard, especially for science lessons.

“We see a drastic improvement in the students’ interest. They get excited when teachers ask them to go to the special room where we have installed the smartboard for lessons,” he added.

“I hope to get an air-conditioner and better classroom tables and chairs for this room in the future to help children learn in a more conducive manner,” he said. He said even the schoolteachers use the smartboard for their in-house training.

“My heartfelt thanks to the RYTHM Foundation for this sponsorship, this is very useful for both our students and teachers,” he said.

Each month, the Foundation identifies a worthy cause, conducts due diligence on it, and recommends it to be a beneficiary of the Gift of Life Programme. The Foundation then further helps with the disbursement of funds and monitors the progress of the funded cause. If you are aware of a cause or run an organisation that may benefit from the Gift of Life Programme, please email us your proposals.