ALOR SETAR: Some of the syllabuses adopted by nurseries under the Community Development Department (Tabika Kemas) have been improved to include the Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STREAM) education modules.
Therefore, Rural Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun said there was no need to revamp the syllabus implemented by Kemas so far as in fact, its syllabus has also been recognised by the Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands in 2017.
“The fees of Tabika Kemas are very much lower than those of private kindergartens. The programme, which was launched last October, has given the children the chance to study and apply what they learned in real life.
“In Melaka, we apply aerospace, in Kuala Lumpur, we have robotics, so this gives children an opportunity to be critical, this is the syllabus being implemented,” she told a press conference after visiting a motorcar and tyre service centre, near here today.
Rina said this when asked to comment on whether the syllabus was of poor quality and the need for it to be revamped as there were young parents choosing to send their children for early childhood education in private nurseries and kindergartens.
A local newspaper today reported that the high cost of nursery and kindergarten added to the financial burden of parents with small children.
Rina said it was actually up to parents to send their children to early childhood education anywhere according to their own judgement and decision.
“There are also Tabika Kemas in the city areas, and although they are normally full, parents can go through the same process as everyone else to register their children into Tabika Kemas,” she said.
Meanwhile, she said there were 66 transit Tabika Kemas established in selected areas, including in Selangor, since June with the aim to help working parents, especially those in urban and suburban areas.
“Parents can send their children to this transit facility from morning and collect them after work in the afternoon. There is a big demand for this facility, so such transit programmes will be expanded, depending on our budget,” she said.
In another development, Rina said up to June, Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) had financially assisted 6,300 entrepreneurs in the automotive sector since 2011.
She said among Mara ‘s business financing schemes offered for the automotive sector this year was RM10.1 million. Of that figure, some RM5 million had been distributed under the Mara Integrated Smart Auto Scheme (MiSA). – Bernama
