KOTA KINABALU – Selected Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) candidates from Sabah will get laptops from the state government starting next month.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor, in a statement today, said 10,000 units will be distributed to Forms 5 and 6 students under the Bantuan Ihsan Komputer (Baik) programme from July 19 to October 18.
He said the state cabinet has given the green light to the initiative aimed at assisting poor students.
“This is the state government’s approach to help them, so that they are not left out of the home-based teaching and learning (PdPR) programme.”
Under Phase 1 of Baik, laptops will be distributed to 9,842 students at national secondary schools and national vernacular secondary schools, as well as 158 students at public religious secondary schools.
Previously, Hajiji said the state cabinet had agreed to set up a committee jointly chaired by the special tasks minister and science, technology and innovation minister to ensure poor students do not miss out on online learning.
The state’s Special Tasks Ministry will be responsible for preparing the list of students eligible for the laptops, with the criteria set by the Education Department.
The state science, technology and innovation minister, meanwhile, will select the laptops.
“The 10,000 students will be those whose parents or guardians are categorised as hardcore poor in the e-Kasih list,” said Hajiji.
He said the laptops of various brands, such as Acer, Lenovo and Dell, will cost the state a total of RM15 million, adding that the devices can be used even when the students pursue their further studies.
Earlier this year, he said the state government would provide needy students with electronic devices so that they could follow PdPR sessions, which were announced following the implementation of movement curbs aimed at containing Covid-19. – The Vibes, June 6, 2021
