What a joy it is for parents when their child is performing well in school! But for many parents in Malaysia, it has been quite a struggle to try and help their children get back to the routine of learning and studying, especially when they had spent many months cooped up at home during the pandemic of 2020, finding comfort and entertainment in their digital gadgets. Throughout it all, however, one name has been on the rise and catching the attention of parents nationwide, for its capability in helping children to develop, strengthen, and exercise their brain power, especially in performing mental arithmetics, and it is none other than the award-winning UCMAS!

UCMAS is a scientifically-proven mental development programme that has, in many ways, managed to help scores of children catch up and cope with school work. Even preschoolers have been benefiting from this internationally-acclaimed programme, for it was, after all, designed for children to develop their latent mental power at a very early age when brain development is at its peak. Having said that, UCMAS is popular among Malaysian families as a profoundly useful developmental programme for their children who are between 4-13 years of age.

By merging its own unique syllabus and modern, engaging teaching techniques with a time-tested learning tool (the abacus), the results are astounding, as students gain the ability to independently perform mental calculation in their head. This kind of calculation speed and accuracy is only achievable due to the different areas of the brain being successfully developed as well.

However, while arithmetic is the main focus of this program, and parents do tend to look forward to their children performing outstanding feats of calculation without calculator or stationeries, the program also offers many more important benefits in the area of developing other mental abilities in children as well, such as concentration, observation, listening more intently, the use of imagination as well as visualization, as well as enhanced memory power. When children are equipped with such enhanced brain prowess and mental skills, they will inevitably start to gain more confidence and self-esteem as they push themselves further to their success and academic goals.

Founded in 1993, UCMAS has enjoyed global recognition and has evolved into a highly lauded mental development programme for children which Malaysians are proud of. Recognised worldwide, the programme has been proven to reap outstanding results among learners, especially in helping them in mastering mental arithmetic, as well as speedy calculation, without even needing to use calculators, or even paper and pen! As children excel in the programme, they will be capable of performing complex mathematics, utilising only the power and prowess of their brain.

Since it was first introduced into the arena of enrichment programmes in Malaysia, UCMAS has has been immensely successful in helping children of different ages to improve their thinking power as well as their confidence and creativity in solving problems, thanks to its very own Abacus Training and Mental Arithmetic techniques. Does it come as any surprise then, that UCMAS is a sought-after programme globally, and has even found its way into school education programmes in some other countries?

It is, hands down, the deserving winner, yet again, for the category of Mental Arithmetic for Children in this year’s BabyTalk & MamaPapa Readers’ Choice Award!