TEC

Total Empowerment Camp (TEC)

BACKGROUND

The Total Empowerment Camp (TEC) is another innovative effort by Tamil Foundation as part of its objectives to promote education as well as discipline amongst the younger generation. It was initiated in 2003 after studies proved that the lack of proficiency in English and Malay amongst Tamil school students has created a difficulty in coping up when they venture into succeeding levels of education. This programme provides a smooth transition for Tamil school students embarking on their secondary school life, so that they develop self-confidence as well as become proficient in English and Malay language. It has helped hundreds of students over the years and Tamil Foundation hopes to make it an on-going service to the student community.

OBJECTIVES

We aim to:

• Promote academic achievement using language as a tool and to enhance character development among students with low performance.
• Enable Tamil School students to face secondary education with confidence and vigor.
• Enable students to mingle with students other races easily by improving their communication skills.
• Enable students to go through character engineering at an optimal level which will mould them towards positive human capital for the benefits of the community.
• Enable students to understand the significance of education towards social, cultural and career development.

TARGET GROUP

Selection of students for the camp will be based on the following criteria:

• Students who get C, D and E grades in their trial / actual UPSR examination.
• Students from poor households.

21 DAY PROGRAMME

It is a 21-day residential programme and is carried out at three levels: basic, pre-intermediate and
Intermediate. Each level, carried out on a weekly basis, focuses on verbal fluency, reading, writing and listening skills. The functional use of the language is emphasized in order to build confidence among the students. Throughout the 21 day programme, the students are encouraged to use English and Malay in creative ways.

Comprehensive course modules have been developed to help the teachers, facilitators and wardens in carrying out the programmes effectively throughout the 21 days. They are all required to undergo an intensive training programme prior to their taking up the responsibilities. Each camp will have a maximum of 30 students, with full time teachers and wardens to ensure that discipline is maintained and that the students follow the programme requirements. At the end of the programme, there will be an evaluation exercise on the overall performance of the students. They will be evaluated using formal and informal assessments to determine their level of improvement.