Foundation presents aid to students
THE AMMA Foundation recently honoured 15 students at its 16th high achievers’ awards ceremony.
The students who scored 8As and above were given a cash award, a plaque and a certificate of merit.
Another four students who topped in the 2017 UPSR examination and two others in the PT3 examination 2017 were also honoured.
The disadvantaged students fall under a programme called Give Me A Chance, conducted by the AMMA Foundation and facilitated by Pusat Makkal Eyakam in Sungei Besi. These students are from the B40 group.
B40 refers to the bottom 40% of households with a monthly income of RM3,900 and below.
Two students who qualified for the V D Nair Scholarship Programme were given a cash award. This is an educational scholarship programme established, administered and operated by AMMA Foundation. It is a form of grant.
AMMA Foundation president Prof Dr Aruna Gopinath spoke on the alarming number of dropouts in the Indian community.
Serious steps have to be taken, she added, to ensure that the children would not fall into the traps of gangsterism and drug addiction.
She said that by 2020, no child should feel he or she has been denied a proper education and livelihood.
Klang MP Charles Santiago in his address, said attention is being paid to the seriousness of the dropout problem.
He said steps have been taken to ensure that vocational training would be carried out.
Education is very crucial, he said, adding that the Government has introduced various programmes to help students from disadvantaged homes to learn a skill or a trade.
Prof Aruna said the foundation’s mission is to provide disadvantaged students with a range of programmes and resources that include interest free loans, scholarships, grants and community outreach. It also provides networking opportunities to young graduates to assist them to become self-sufficient individuals and future leaders.