VCS will implement eRAS in March

Attendance for VCS students and volunteers is currently taken manually. Each Thursday and Saturday at Cheng San Community Club's Reading Room, Wan Ghee, the VCS Representative, will record the names of the students and volunteer tutors on paper.

"As I do not know all the students and volunteers, it is very tedious and time-consuming for me to approach them and get their names," she said.

eRAS for convenience

Come next month, VCS will implement the Electronic Registration & Attendance-taking System (eRAS), saving the 19-year-old Wan Ghee the brunt of needing to physically track attendance twice a week.

The eRAS is a new facility introduced to all grassroots organisations under the People's Association. Two members from Cheng San CC YEC will attend the eRAS training course on March 2, 2010 and learn how to effectively use the eRAS.

In the near future, relatively large-scale YEC events will also use the eRAS to monitor the overall participation rate.

eRAS will enhance surveying of commitment

According to the VCS terms and conditions, students found to miss VCS classes for more than 3 weeks (each week has 2 classes) without a proper explanation will be dimissed immediately from the VCS program.

"We have this hard rule to ensure the students and their parents are deserving of free academic aid, and do not disregard our service," said Jacob Ong, Vice Chairperson of Cheng San CC YEC and VCS Director. "We do not want our tutors to come for a class and find that all their students are absent. We need to think for our volunteers as well."

"Of course, we are also finding ways to improve tutor attendance and keep our student to tutor ratio low, so that students can benefit more from the tutors."