KUCHING: The Trust Schools Programme (TSP 1.0), specially designed to develop holistic students with 21st century capabilities, has proven to be a success in Malaysia’s education sector.
The programme, a flagship project of Kuala Lumpur-based LeapEd Services Sdn Bhd (LeapEd), since its rollout in 2011, has impacted over 5,300 parents and 65,000 students in 83 schools across 12 states nationwide.
According to LeapEd managing director Zulhaimi Othman, the TSP 1.0 is a customisable programme by LeapEd in collaboration with Yayasan AMIR and the Ministry of Education to ensure its sustainability in Malaysian schools.
LeapEd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Khazanah Nasional Berhad, is Malaysia’s first home-grown education service provider.
Zulhaimi said LeapEd, which was established as a social enterprise, aimed to enrich lives through capacity-building and education transformation.
It has since impacted over 71,000 students and over 160 schools through its various intervention models such as the District Transformation Programme-AMAN (‘DTP-AMAN’), Islamic School Enhancement Programme (‘ISEP’), Ground-up School Transformation (‘GUSTO’) programme, Program Sekolah Transformasi (PreSTasi) as well as the TSP 1.0, which is the nation’s first Trust Schools Programme to date.
Speaking at a press conference to unveil the insights of the “Education in the 21st Century — Our Impact” (Impact Study), he said the TSP was designed with the future generations in mind.
“Over the past nine years, we have worked closely with our strategic partners such as the Ministry of Education and Yayasan AMIR to develop and implement the programme across schools in Malaysia, equipping students with the critical life skills they require as well as transforming schools in a holistic manner by adapting international best practices.”
This recent study was conducted to review the effectiveness of the TSP 1.0, identifying opportunities to further enhance the model moving forward.
The Impact Study, conducted via a mixed methodology involving surveys, interviews and observations, saw findings from over 3,000 respondents including school staff, students and parents.
The study revealed that 95 per cent of secondary school teachers and 76 per cent of primary school teachers moved up by at least one level up the scale, such as from Starting to Developing or Enhancing to Extending.
Zulhaimi said the study also showed that the TSP 1.0 had had a positive impact on the professional competencies of school staff, allowing them to nurture students and provide quality learning in the classrooms.
Over 3,139 students and parents interviewed reported that students under TSP 1.0 received quality teaching.
The TSP 1.0 transformation approach focuses on a public-private partnership (‘PPP’) outreach model, working collaboratively with school leadership teams, teachers, students, parents and the community.
