82 top UPSR achievers receive incentives
KOTA MARUDU: Scoring at least three As in last year’s Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) paid off well for 82 pupils when they were rewarded for their hard work.
At a simple ceremony yesterday, these pupils were awarded with RM100 cash for each A scored, which is part of the incentive mooted by the incumbent member of parliament here, Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili about five years ago.
“Initially, the incentive was given for each A scored, but beginning last year, we decided to be slightly strict and award only those who scored 3As and above in the UPSR,” said Maximus at the presentation at Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SJKC) Khoi Ming Hall, here.
Also present were incumbent and Barisan Nasional candidate for N5 Tandek, Datuk Anita Baranting and district education officer Datu Akdan Datu Basran.
Maximus expressed satisfaction over the positive development, noting that they had met the objective to encourage rural pupils to excel in their studies.
Of the figure, nine pupils scored straight 6As, while 11 others obtained 5As, followed by 21 4As scorers, and 41 others scored 3As.
Maximus, through his member of parliament fund and donations, presented RM100 for each A scored this year, totalling RM31,600.
“This is a healthy development and I believe we have met the objective to encourage pupils in rural schools here to score at least an A,” he said.
In addition, another RM33,000 was presented to 33 ParentsTeachers Associations here to carry out motivational programmes.
Maximus meanwhile encouraged parents to work closely with their children’s teachers, adding that with the right guidance and support, coupled with good learning environment, rural pupils can also excel in their studies.
“Some of the top scorers last year came from far-flung schools. They are forced to walk for hours to their schools, and yet they were able to perform well in their UPSR.
“Such motivational programmes may look small but it offers big impact on the children, especially their studies,” he said.
Maximus also reminded parents not to misuse the incentives given to their children.
“It is meant to buy your children’s education supplies,” he said.
Meanwhile, Datu Akdan said the UPSR performance here showed an improvement with an increase of 3.40 per cent, from 49.93 per cent in 2016 to 51.70 per cent last year.
“Last year, at least two schools recorded 100 per cent passes for Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) namely SMK Tansek and SMK Kota Marudu, with two students scoring four flats in their examination.
“Kota Marudu topped the northern zone in terms of sports and academic, and came out fourth in sports this year from 24 districts statewide,” he noted.
This, Datu Akdan said, was possible due to the change of attitude amongst students, adding there was zero discipline cases recorded here.