Ray of Hope for Slow Learners

KUALA LUMPUR: Studies have shown that over 60 per cent of slow learners from Tamil schools in Selangor had benefited from the Slow Learner Programme (SLP).

There are 6,000 slow learners in 97 Tamil schools in Selangor.

The SLP pilot project was launched last year in collaboration with the Child Information Learning and Development Centre (CHILD), Tamil Foundation and Education Welfare Research Foundation (EWRF).

Specially-trained teachers are part of the five-year project.

The teaching materials were produced by a group of teachers who had dealt with slow learners.

State executive councillor for Health, Plantation Workers, Poverty and Caring Government Dr Xavier Jayakumar said children do not learn at the same phase and some needed a different approach.

Students who had benefited from the programme can now keep up in class just like their peers.

He added that the main objective of the programme was to enable the slow learners to join the normal class once they have mastered the basic skills.

"The pages in the SLP books are more colourful and is picture driven. The teaching method also involved showing a lot of care, love and attention," said Xavier.

Dr Xavier Jayakumar (second from left) with Tamil school teachers who received Volume 1 and 2 of the books for slow learners.

He said 30 per cent of Year One Tamil school students did not receive pre-school education which made things difficult for them as they found it hard to cope with the syllabus.

Printing and distribution of the Volume 1 and 2 of SLP books for Year One to Year Six students was sponsored by the Selangor government.

The project was worth RM110,000.

Yesterday, Volume 1 and 2 of the books were given to several Tamil school teachers in Selangor.

He added that based on government statistics, there were about 160,000 slow learners in Malaysia.

By Sheila Sri Priya, New Straits Times