Flying high with English
ENGLISH is much like a passport. Without it, one cannot go places.
With this in mind, Terra College is sponsoring 15,000 copies of stuff@school to 23 schools in its surrounding location of Klang, Selangor.
Stuff@school is a pullout written by teens for teens. Apart from improving English proficiency, it is dedicated to current affairs, pop culture, short stories and literature.
“If you teach children to speak in English, you’re giving them a passport to survive anywhere,” said Terra College academic advisor and director Tan Sri Dr M Thambirajah.
“We are glad that we are able to work together with The Star newspaper and teachers in the Klang Valley, to give the children something that will really benefit their future,” he said after handing the mock cheque over to The Star executive editor Soo Ewe Jin.
The event was joined by students and teachers from several schools receiving the sponsorship. Also at the event were Terra College principal Prof Dr Ho Ban Lee, CEO Prakash Rao, Star Media Group (formerly known as Star Publications (M) Bhd) audience management assistant manager Andrew Lim and audience management executive Jasmine Yeoh.
Supportive of educational initiatives by The Star, Dr Thambirajah said that the newspaper can be used for fun learning. “It is a powerhouse for the person with imagination.
“A long time ago, I used the newspaper differently. It was how my teachers taught me. The livelier textbook is The Star newspaper – its content is updated everyday,” he said.
With extensive experience in the education field, Dr Thambirajah said that it is sad to see a decline in English proficiency throughout the years.
“Finance and government policies should not be barriers to quality education. Education is not a privilege, but a right. It should be accessible to all,” said the brainchild behind Terra College.
Prof Ho said that the college aims to provide quality education at a reasonable price. “We will do anything to establish quality. Quality and affordability are key focus in this college.
“We only hire experienced lecturers with post graduate qualifications from recognised universities. The college is growing slowly in order not to sacrifice quality,” he said.
Prof Ho said English was also a priority for students at the college.
“English is very important – we want to produce students who can speak good English. We have roped in highly qualified lecturers to teach our students English,” he added.
He said that the college wants to produce marketable students who are fluent in English.