12/22/2013 — http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2013/12/22/ECER-stands-for-excellence-in-PMR-Training-programme-steers-296-students-towards-improved-academic-g/
“Twenty-one of them scored 9As each,” said the East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC) chief executive officer Datuk Jebasingam Issace John.
He said the students were from Bachok in Kelantan, Kemaman in Terengganu and Mersing in Johor.
“These students are outstanding examples that ECER youths can excel with the right guidance and motivation,” he said.
Early this year, a total of 1,200 Form 3 students from 33 schools in ECER were involved in the Empower programme, which is one of ECERDC’s human capital development programmes in the region.
“It is aimed at enhancing the socio-economic status of the locals through better academic achievement among the students and higher income for the adults.”
Issace John said that the students’ performance in the examination was made possible by their own hard work and commitment in addition to the effective modules introduced under the ECER Academic Training programme.
“Most of them had formerly been categorised as ‘academically weak’ and come from disadvantaged families.
“We hope that their success in this year’s PMR results will encourage them to keep pursuing excellence in the academic field, which will ultimately help them build a better future for themselves and their families,” Issace John said.
Empower ECER is a unique programme that combines remedial classes with confidence building.
To create a more level playing field, the programme focuses on exposing the participants to a variety of learning experiences.
Overall, Empower ECER continued its momentum, delivering 100% passes among students who attended the programme.
The programme is conducted in 11 locations across ECER, namely Jeli and Bachok in Kelantan; Kemaman and Dungun in Terengganu; Bentong, Temerloh, Raub, Lipis, Cameron Highlands and Kuala Pahang in Pahang; and Mersing in Johor.
A total of 5,901 students sat for three national examinations, comprising 2,255 participants for Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah, 1,830 participants for PMR and 1,816 participants for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia.
Empower ECER is a twin-pronged human capital development initiative launched by ECERDC in 2010 to help reduce economic disparities between rural and urban communities.
According to Issace John, a total of 22,262 participants, comprising 13,537 students and 8,725 adults, have benefited from Empower ECER to date.
