PUTRAJAYA: Starting next month, 550 classrooms in 110 schools across the country will be transformed into "hybrid classes" under a pioneer project by the Education Ministry aimed at promoting innovative learning through the sharing of creative teaching.
The Hybrid Classrooms Pioneer Project is among a slew of initiatives undertaken by the ministry to accelerate the digitalisation and information and communication technology (ICT) in the public education system.
Senior Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin said the ministry hoped by November it would be "all systems go" for the hybrid classrooms.
"We are in the final stage of selecting the schools for the project. Each of the schools will house five hybrid classes.
"Apart from incorporating the use of equipment and devices such as laptops and smart interactive whiteboards, the ministry will also boost the Internet connection with the software-design wide area network (SD-WAN) and local area network (LAN)," he told reporters after attending the Education Transformation Ceremony: ICT Empowerment at SMK Putrajaya Presint 18(1) here today.
Radzi said the project was a two-in-one initiative that would not only increase the use of technology in teaching and learning but also encourage the sharing of innovative teaching methods between schools.
"Using platforms such as Digital Educational Learning Initiative Malaysia (DELIMa), students from one school can attend and learn the topics of a subject being taught by a teacher who uses props and other creative teaching techniques from other schools.
"With the abolition of examinations such as the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) and Form Three Assessment (PT3), we want to continually increase innovation in teaching and learning in schools around the country.
"We want everyone to work and progress together through the sharing of creative and innovative approaches among teachers from different schools for the benefit of our students," he said.
Radzi said the ministry had also embarked on a RM1.3 billion initiative to improve and replace ICT equipment and infrastructure including desktops and laptops, printers, projectors and charging ports, using the lease-to-use approach, in schools nationwide. This would be implemented in three phases.
The first phase, which is almost 90 per cent complete, involved 3,900 schools and an allocation of RM411.8 million.
The second phase, which would involve the replacement of devices at 3,455 schools, with an allocation of RM460 million is expected to be completed by early next year.
The third phase would be implemented in the remaining 3,400 schools with an allocation of RM430 million and its completion is scheduled for end of 2023.
"With the lease-to-use approach, gone are the days where schools have to wait for a long time to repair or dispose of damaged computers. Suppliers or venders of the devices will be responsible to maintain, repair and even dispose the devices," he said.
He added that the ministry was in the process of completing the digital education policy, which among others, was aimed at enhancing Internet connectivity in all schools.
"At present, only the teachers' rooms, administration offices and libraries in schools have Internet access."
The ministry, he said, was working closely with the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (Mampu) to complete the cabinet papers on this policy.