Durian Tunggal rep urges Education Ministry to resurrect Education TV
Durian Tunggal assemblyperson Mohd Sofi Abdul Wahab is urging the Education Ministry to recreate the Education TV programme.
He said the channel, which was first introduced in 1972, needs to be restored to help children who are going through the Teaching and Learning at Home (PDPR) process.
"I want to suggest to the ministry to bring back the Education TV programme that used to be broadcasted freely on national television, as it was implemented in the 80s.
"This is an alternative for children who need to study online but do not have Internet access in the area or no facilities such as telephones or laptops," he told Malaysiakini today.
In November, Simpang Renggam MP Maszlee Malik questioned the Education Ministry's guarantee that educational TV content could be completed following the extension of the project's completion date given to Radius One Sdn Bhd production company.
The former education minister also asked why the company only completed 25 of the 800-content series despite being given ample time.
In response to this, Education Minister Mohd Radzi Md Jidin had said that the open tender project worth RM1.92 million given to the company was delayed due to the implementation of the movement control order (MCO) in March last year.
Therefore, he said the project's expiry date was extended from Nov 30, 2020 to March 31 this year.
Mohd Sofi, an Amanah leader who served as part of the Malacca state exco from 2018 to 2020, said that if the Education TV channel is restored in the near future, it should be coordinated through a special broadcast for each school level.
"If it can be created, the ministry can issue a special schedule. For example, some broadcasts segregated for primary and secondary school levels.
"Those (school students) who do not have facilities or Internet network can learn through television because that is one of the basic facilities that almost all families have.
"This is an alternative to PDPR because we see under the current report, too many parents have problems not being able to provide gadgets to their children," he added.
On Thursday, Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil questioned the government's progress in delivering 150,000 laptops to students as promised under Budget 2021.
Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, when tabling Budget 2021, had said that government-linked companies (GLCs) and government-linked investment companies (GLICs) would contribute RM150 million into the Cerdik fund to provide 150,000 laptops to students in 500 schools in a pilot project overseen by Yayasan Hasanah.
Fahmi, however, said there has been no news on whether the laptops had been delivered even though the school year has already started.
"Almost all students have to do online learning (due to) MCO 2.0 which may be extended several times, yet we have not heard about these laptops being handed over," he added.
Bersatu Youth to hold online SPM workshops
Meanwhile, Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal said his Bersatu Youth group would like to suggest for the Education Ministry to create a special programme for SPM students through Education TV.
"This proposal is an additional 'option' for students aside from getting formal education during school hours, so that they can add knowledge as well as further complement the PDPR and help students get effective and useful information in preparing for SPM which will start on Feb 22," he said.
This will also help those facing Internet access problems in their areas, he added.
Wan Fayhsal said that Bersatu Youth's Education Bureau will organise a Question and Answering Workshop specifically for SPM students.
"This workshop will be implemented virtually with the cooperation of several agencies and NGOs. This will be broadcast live on several websites.
"Participants will not be charged any fees and it is open to all Malaysians.
"We hope that this initiative can help those SPM candidates in achieving excellence even while taking the exams under special Covid-19 circumstances," he added.
