The Malaysian government is planning to
introduce video conferencing in Teaching & Learning (T & L) for schools
in rural areas, including in Sarawak.
Thus, Prime
Minister YAB Datuk Patinggi Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi has ordered the
Education Ministry to improve basic facilities such as electricity and
telecommunications access to all national schools.
According
to the Prime Minister, by applying ICT in T & L, it will help rural area
students boost their performance to be at par, if not better than their
counterparts in the urban areas.
“We surely hope that this effort will strengthen the
national schools (NS) and will become the best option for all rural schools in
the country,” said the Prime Minister in his speech at the official opening of
UNIMAS Permanent Campus recently.
This approach will also solve the problem of shortage
of teachers in rural schools, he noted.
He highlighted the fact that students in rural areas
should not be seen as not wanting to learn, but that they lack the necessary
facilities or means to improve their learning
The Prime Minister is convinced that the methods
applying ICT in the Teaching and Learning process are useful and effective.
However, he added that the teachers must also be given the skill and knowledge
needed to tap these new technologies.
The Prime Minister reiterated the government’s
commitment to ensure that all children in rural areas will not miss the
opportunity to get education and to narrow the gap between rural and urban
schools in terms of facilities and quality of teaching.
He said that efforts to address these issues will be
intensified because the lack of facilities will affect the quality of learning
and hold back the government’s efforts to produce quality human capital.
RM200 billion has been allocated for education in
Ninth Malaysia Plan (RMK-9) with more emphasis given to developing and
improving schools in rural areas.
