BUKIT MERTAJAM, July 2015 - Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is always committed to serve and contribute to the local community, and to provide the necessary support to help those in need.

President of the USM Association of Academic & Administrative Staff (PKAPUSM) Associate Professor Dr P. Sundramoorthy said this at the iftar dinner hosted by PKAPUSM specially for the visually impaired children at Sekolah Kebangsaan Pendidikan Khas (SKPK) Alma (Penglihatan), here, recently.

He said USM had also implemented various community-based activities especially those that meet the specific needs of the local communities.

PKAPUSM Vice-President and also member of the USM Board of Governors Professor Datuk Dr. Omar Shawkataly said the programme is one of the annual events organised by PKAPUSM to strengthen existing networking with the community.

Omar hoped that programmes such as this will be continued in the future incorporating a variety of activities engaging the local community.

At the ceremony, the PKAPUSM President presented donations to buy Braille Quran besides distributing ‘duit raya’ and souvenirs to the students.

After iftar, the ceremony continued with Isyak and Tarawih prayers.

SKPK Alma Principal Hasan Basri Mukhtar said he was very pleased with USM’s initiative to visit their school and hosted the iftar dinner, bringing joy to the children of the school.

"We hope to carry out more programmes with USM in the future, all the more as most of the trainee teachers here are students from the School of Educational Studies majoring in special education,” he said further.

Hasan Basri hopes that more non-governmental organisations (NGO) will also help to look for students with visual impairments and to place them at the school, as the number of students entering the school has dropped over the years due to the lack of exposure and information regarding the school among community.

“The Government’s ongoing efforts in cooperation with non-governmental organisations (NGO) in implementing various programmes has helped to improve the quality of life of these group of children, as we know that many families have children with special needs but due to their lack of awareness, they fail to send their children here for education,” he added when interviewed by TVUSM.

Earlier, the School of Educational Studies lecturer (Teaching English as a Second Language [TESL]) Associate Professor Dr. Muhammad Kamarul Kabilan Abdullah also delivered a motivational talk on students’ human capital development.

The school has a total of 41 primary school students, 27 secondary school students with a total of 66 students living in hostel, and 10 academic classes including a preschool handled by 25 teachers and 10 Student Assistants.

SKPK Alma provides various facilities to students with special needs, such as hostel, special eyesight correction equipment and experienced teaching staff. The school is open to students with visual impairments such as blindness and low vision.

Translation: Sharifah Zafirah/Text: Siti Naquiah Abdillah/Photo: Zamani Abdul Rahim