The Risers, a community led by students from Taylor’s College, have collaborated with Jabatan Pendidikan Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur (JPWPKL) to help ease the transition of students going back to school ahead of the commencement of the new term on 21 March 2022.
The economic fallout from the pandemic has impacted many families especially those in the bottom 40% (B40) group who continue to struggle with financial and social hardships three years into the health crisis. Media reports over the past year featuring statements and stories from parents within this community summarised that many families raising school-going children are working extra hard to ensure that they are able to earn enough money to provide their children with school necessities such as uniforms, stationery supplies, shoes, and face masks, amongst other things.
Understanding these hardships, Taylor’s College and JPWPKL have reached out to 1,000 families and children in the areas of Bangsar, Pudu, Keramat, and Sentul with school bags and stationery supplies through the ‘Bag to School’ programme.
Mohd Najib Ab Rahman, Deputy Director of PPD Planning and Management Sector said “It remains our duty to provide for the community in their time of need and we are committed to ease the burden of families in the Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur region. Thus far, Taylor’s ‘Bag to School’ has been the biggest contribution we have ever received, allowing 1,000 high school students from the B40 group to benefit from this initiative. JPWPKL have worked with schools in PPD Bangsar Pudu, PPD Sentul and PPD Keramat to identify students who will be receiving these supplies. As the new school term have started, we hope that more organisations such as Taylor’s will come forward to assist in reaching out to more students in the coming months.”
“As an institution that has over 50 years of educational experience, we understand that our role in the country’s nation-building agenda stretches beyond just providing education and preparing young talents with the best foundation to lead a thriving life upon graduation. We believe that the responsibility of building and developing the social and economic statuses of various communities lies in us as well. As Taylor’s continues to push the envelope in pedagogy and student-centered learning, we are also committed to impacting positive changes in the community driven by our Taylor’sphere values and we are honoured for the opportunity to partner with JPWPKL for this initiative,” said Josephine Tan, Taylor’s College Campus Director.
Even as families in the B40 group continue to endure the adversities of the pandemic, further media reports suggests that parents are willing to do whatever it takes for their children to get an education. “Education is a vehicle for children and families to escape the “poverty trap”. Access to education would help raise people’s productivity and creativity that promotes entrepreneurship and technological advancements. Lack of access to education, especially deterred by issues such as shortage of resources to school necessities, could sometimes demotivate marginalised students and parents to place importance on learning. Without a nurtured community, how do we expect to become a fully developed nation boasting great political, social and economic advancement?,” said Natasha Iman, Taylor’s College The Risers Ambassador. She further commented that through ‘Bag to School’, she hopes families and their children are able to look forward to schooling without worrying about preparing the items and provide them with the much-needed motivation to restart their education in the classroom after three years of on and offline learning. Last week, JPWKL and Taylor’s have distributed the school supplies to various schools within Kuala Lumpur.
The Risers is a student-led community that encourages young learners to engage with like-minded peers and promotes opportunities to equip themselves with valuable skills whilst also empowering one another to make things happen. The ‘Bag to School’ programme is one of the projects helmed by Taylor’s College under their ‘The Risers Community Outreach’ initiative.
For more information on The Risers, please visit https://bit.ly/TheRisersBTS.
