PETALING JAYA: In a major academic boost for the Indian community, 8,690 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) candidates throughout the country have benefitted from the 2026 Tamil Language Excellence Empowerment Programme.
The educational intervention was initiated by the Malaysian Indian Community Transformation Unit (Mitra), operating under the Human Resources Ministry and backed by an allocation of more than RM900,000.
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“Rolled out in close partnership with the Education Ministry, the initiative stands as a cornerstone of the Madani government’s overarching mission to significantly raise academic thresholds and enhance native language proficiency among the nation’s youth.
“By shifting away from standard rote learning, the scheme guarantees that the students receive targeted, high-impact guidance,” Mitra said in a statement.
It added that the intensive training modules are specifically structured to sharpen academic performance while boosting the core motivation, mental resilience and self-confidence required to undertake national public examinations”.
In the same statement, Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri R. Ramanan said the Tamil language is not merely an ordinary school subject to be mastered strictly for a grade sheet or an examination.
“It represents an ancient, priceless treasure trove of language, deep-rooted culture and communal identity that must be fiercely preserved, celebrated and carried forward by future generations.
“We want to ensure every student has the opportunity to achieve excellence, regardless of their background.
“Through Mitra, we are not just providing educational assistance, but also implementing academic interventions that could directly impact student progress and help them achieve excellence in public examinations.”
He added that of the total beneficiaries, 7,897 were SPM candidates, while another 793 were STPM candidates.
He also said the implementation of the programme demonstrates the Madani government’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that comprehensive attention is given to the educational development of the Indian community.
Earlier, Ramanan officiated at the programme, which was attended by nearly 300 SPM candidates and 50 educators from Selangor, at the Omnia Auditorium in Petaling Jaya.
The statement also said Mitra has pledged to aggressively ramp up its specialised educational portfolios under the Kalvi Madani umbrella.
“We will strengthen strategic collaborations with the (Education Ministry), state education departments and relevant institutions.
“This is to ensure that more students from the Indian community are able to benefit from our academic development programmes.
“This continued expansion aims to ensure that targeted, highly effective academic development programmes continuously reach the hearts of vulnerable or high-potential Indian students throughout Malaysia.”