KUALA LUMPUR: The Cerdik initiative is set for rollout in February involving RM150 million contributions from 13 government-linked investment companies (GLICs) and government-linked companies (GLCs).
The corporate social responsibility initiative announced in the 2021 Budget features companies under Khazanah Nasional Bhd, Permodalan Nasional Bhd, the Employees Provident Fund and Petroliam Nasional Bhd.
Cerdik will provide digital access comprising laptops, tablets, and data connectivity to students from lower-income families.
The measure is aimed to help students from lower-income families adapt to the new norm of online lessons, e-learning and outside-classroom teaching.
Yayasan Hasanah, the impact-based foundation of Khazanah, is the secretariat of the Cerdik initiative.
The foundation will administer the contributions, in cash and kind, from participating companies while working in partnership with the Finance Ministry (MOF) and the Education Ministry (MOE).
For Cerdik, the student and school selection are determined by the MOE, which has also carefully decided on the hardware and software specifications to ensure a more sustainable implementation including warranty support, usability, and longer shelf life for future digital learning.
"We want to bridge the learning gap between those who can afford digital devices and those who cannot. Furthermore, we hope that this initiative will also pilot digital learning models for future adoptions," MOE secretary-general Datuk Yusran Shah Mohd Yusof said.
Yayasan Hasanah managing director Shahira Ahmed Bazari said the foundation was committed to supporting innovative and scalable learning models that promote equity and level the playing field to enable access to quality learning for all.
"Hasanah has been working very closely with MOE in the design of the Cerdik initiative to ensure its sustainable implementation. Cerdik will roll out the first tranche of devices from February.
"We are working hard with all parties to accelerate the pace of distribution. We are humbled to lead this initiative with MOF, MOE and our GLIC-GLC partners to make a difference during these trying times," she said.
Since 2010, Yayasan Hasanah and Khazanah have also been working with the MOE on various system-level educational initiatives to support inclusive education for students in Malaysia.