The presentation of MRSM Letter of Offers to a hundred and forty-four deserving Indian students took place at the Ministry of Works Complex on 16 February 2004. All the students had achieved straight As in the recent UPSR examination. Based on their academic excellence, each has been selected to attend one of ten MRSMs around the country.
Excited students and parents streamed in circa nine a.m. onwards as YSS staff attended to the necessary administration of the ceremony and the registration of the students. A light breakfast was served shortly after ten, an opportune time for positively anxious parents to mingle and mitigate understandable fears among themselves as, after all, their children will be away from home and experiencing full-boarding school education for the first time.
I had the opportunity of speaking to several students and their parents. One of them was Satheesh, a very cheerful boy who will be attending MRSM Pontian. Satheesh achieved 5As in his UPSR and said that his success must be attributed to both his personal motivation to do well, as well as the support he received from his parents and two elder sisters in the run-up to the exams. His father is a mandor at a palm oil estate whilst his mother is a housewife. His two sisters are in Form 5 and Form 4. An avid reader, Satheesh also frequents the public and school library and aspires to be a scientist in the future.
And then there were the twins, Rekha and Rakish, who will also be attending MRSM Pontian. The elder (by three minutes!), Rekha was most lively and extremely enthusiastic about the opportunity she and her brother have since been granted. Their formula for success included drawing up a flexible timetable that allowed them considerable balance between study and play, and Rakish admitted that studying together was definitely helpful especially when discussing difficult questions. Their parents are extremely proud of them and confessed to have been equally anxious in the moments before their results were released.
I also spoke with Rishalini from Sitiawan who will be studying at MRSM Batu Pahat. A confident and mature girl, Rishalini remained unfazed by the prospect of living and studying so far away from home. Her favourite subject is English and cites American talk show host Oprah Winfrey as her idol, in particular, admiring Winfrey's climb to success despite her unfortunate childhood. A lover of animals, Rishalini aspires to be a veterinarian in the future.
The day's events went smoothly as all guests later adjourned for a sumptuous lunch. The atmosphere was warm and lively as by then, the ice had been broken and the students had made friends with others who were designated to the same MRSM. As afternoon progressed into evening, the students and their parents attended two more talks by the officers of the MRSMs, who introduced the new boarding lifestyle the students will possibly encounter, laid down the rules, and stated their expectations of student discipline and behaviour. By four p.m., the day's proceedings were completed and everyone started to make their way home.
As a result of the co-operation between Yayasan Strategik Sosial, MRSM and the government, this has been a successful programme that grants the opportunity to deserving Indian students to obtain a solid and wholesome education as offered by the MRSMs. “Impacting Lives, Seeing Changes” – It has definitely been wonderful to see hardworking students being rewarded and dreams being realised.
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