By Mervyn Ong | 12 November 2008 | Comments (0)
So, I just read of an interesting news in TheStar Online - apparently 25,000 11-year old kids in Terengganu will be receiving laptops next year to be used in place of textbooks in a bid to save them from the burden of carrying heavy book loads to school everyday.
Terengganu Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said said the pilot scheme, aimed at reducing the burden of school children who carry heavy book loads to school, would cost the state government RM30mil for the purchase of computers from Intel Electronics. The laptops would become the pupils’ electronic text books.
”By April next year, we expect to distribute laptops to 25,000 Year Five pupils who will use them in place of books with text incorporated into their laptops through the cooperation of Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka (DBP).
While I commend the state for being so forward thinking, I couldn’t help but to have concerns. I guess it depends on how it will be implemented and what kind of laptops are to be given out as the details are not available as yet; but when you decide to give RM1200 laptops to school kids, a few important thoughts do come to mind.
Firstly, kids being kids… who is going to pay for the repairs of damaged laptops? If it is the pupils and their families, then what about those who cannot afford it? These families will be burdened with the extra expense.
Secondly, would the kids be exposed to the danger of being robbed? Or worse still, beaten up in the process of being robbed.
Thirdly, how will this affect the kids when they reach secondary school, and find that they have to revert back to textbooks etc…?
It just seems like this sort of initiative should be done at a national level with broad, long term plans in place. RM30 million is alot of money, a sum which could be equally well spent enriching the lives of all the people in Terengganu as a whole. Here, you may also be interested to read what Tony Pua (MP for PJ Utara) has to say on the matter at his blog on Education in Malaysia.
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Life, Other, Technology
Life, Other, Technology
