Sadly, the once thriving technical institute, that has uplifted thousands of Malaysian lives over the last six decades, has been harshly hit by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, with the institute struggling to meet overheads.
“The scale of the Covid-19 disruption to MBT’s operations has been truly astounding,” said director Brother Robin Devasagayam.
“We understand that the country is experiencing a crisis of epic proportions, but donors and benefactors, who previously supported us generously, have now reduced or completely stopped contributing to MBT,” he lamented.
From computer maintenance and machining, to graphic design and hospitality, the institute is renowned for turning around the lives of society’s forgotten members, through character building and specific skills training.
As such, MBT’s customised training programmes, which comprise up to 70% practical exposure with face-to-face learning, is on the verge of collapsing due to the lack of funds.
“When the government announced the total lockdown at the beginning of this year, all students were instructed to return home,” Devasagayam said, noting that students then attended online classes for a month, after which they were able to return to campus.
“In May, students returned home for their semester break but Covid-19 cases started to spike at the same time. So, we requested our students to learn from home; and till today, all the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) staff are teaching from home as well,” he said.
To uplift employee and student morale, MBT keeps in constant touch with staff and students via WhatsApp and provides online counselling assistance to students.
MBT student, Edmund Louis, aged 19, a Multimedia Artist pupil, said that he was lucky to be equipped with a laptop, smart phone and have access to good internet connection. However, he felt that keeping up with studies on his own was a challenge.
“I feel that I’m more creative when I’m physically in the classroom with teachers and my fellow course mates. Being able to discuss creative ideas face-to-face is more productive,” he said.
Chan Jun Kit of the Facilities Maintenance programme, who resides in Wangsa Maju, Setapak, said that while he was comfortable with online learning, he faced another issue.
“While we do have a student WhatsApp group to discuss our studies and Google to do our research from home, I still face internet connection problems,” the student explained.
Similarly, 20-year-old Susanna Nisha, another student in the Multimedia Artist programme, also echoed Jun Kit’s complaint about internet connectivity issues.
“I hope the number of Covid-19 cases decreases soon so that MBT can reopen. I can’t wait to go back to campus,” she said, noting that she too misses her classmates and prefers face-to-face learning.
Unfortunately, even without students on campus, MBT requires RM250,000 monthly to meet its overheads, which include staff salaries, utility bills and maintenance. When students are on campus, the amount increases to RM400,000 monthly.
Devasagayam explained that in addition to the drastic decline in donations, MBT is faced with several other challenges, including implementation of home-based teaching and learning (PdPR) classes, postponement of graduation ceremonies, and difficulty in conducting interviews for student intakes due to travel restrictions.
Another major challenge is the lack of smart devices and internet and data access among candidates and students. Devasagayam explained that in keeping with the times, MBT is also trying to upgrade its teaching facilities and providing soft skills training to all TVET staff. However, the pandemic, and its ensuing economic impact has made things truly difficult.
“MBT has been a skills training (TVET) provider since 1959. We strongly believe in transforming the ‘youth in need’ of our society into employable candidates with ‘real life, real skills’. We can proudly vouch to all potential employers, ‘hire attitude first, and second, the talent’,” concluded Devasagayam.
TVET continues to be an important source of highly skilled and future-ready workforce in Malaysia. In fact, according to the National Policy on Industry 4.0, Malaysia requires more independent and highly-skilled workers, who will increase the nation’s productivity.
However, if things stay the same, this once booming home for talent and character building risks being shut down, and with it, the hopes and dreams of its students, who are quite frankly, part of Malaysia’s future.
If you wish to help out, kindly call 03 55191735 / 6 or MBT Director, Brother Robin, at 012 282 2966, or Deputy Director, Mr Arul S. at 016 620 9244. You can also forward your enquiries to [email protected] or visit MBT’s official website or Facebook page.