Sharp Malaysia Donates Smart Classrooms To Underprivileged Schools

As part of its CSR initiative, Sharp Electronics (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (Sharp Malaysia) will provide two schools in Perak with its Smart Classroom Solution to two Orang Asli primary schools. In collaboration with the Ministry of Education (MOE), Sharp Malaysia aims to provide a comprehensive learning environment for indigenous students.

A student demonstrating how Sharp’s Smart Classroom Solution works at Sekolah Kebangsaan Jernang

The donation handover ceremony was officiated by YB Dato' Dr. Mah Hang Soon, Deputy Minister of Education, and participated by Mr Hamedan Bin Aziz, Principal of Sekolah Kebangsaan Jernang, and Irene Tiew, Finance Director of Sharp Malaysia.

Handover ceremony of Sharp’s CSR contribution to the Sekolah Kebangsaan Jernang

Perak has been identified as one of the states that have a significant population of approximately 61,225 indigenous people. In recent years, low participation of the Orang Asli students can be seen in the education system. Most of the Orang Asli receive formal education only at the primary level. However, there is a significant trend where the majority of students who completed their primary education will drop out of secondary school. They are falling far behind other Malaysians in getting educated.

Photo session with the students and teachers from Sekolah Kebangsaan Jernang with YB Dato’ Dr. Mah Hang Soon, Deputy Minister of Education and Sharp Malaysia

To address the challenges, the Malaysian government has allocated a budget to the Orang Asli community to raise their standard of living through subsidies, school aid, and welfare assistance. With its technological resources and know-how, Sharp Malaysia strives to lend a helping hand to attract students' interest back to school and provide a better learning environment across the Orang Asli community. The collaboration with MOE and JAKOA aims to improve the academic achievement and attendance rate of Orang Asli students, as well as to reach the unreached by digitally enabling those in rural areas.

YB Dato' Dr. Mah Hang Soon, Deputy Minister of Education, said "We have always placed special emphasis on the wellbeing of indigenous, especially in the aspect of education. To ensure they receive quality and relevant education, we have implemented the Orang Asli Education Transformation programme in line with the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025. On top of our efforts already in place to assist the Orang Asli community, we believe that working closely with other parties and the private sectors like Sharp Malaysia can help the community grasp digital opportunities to raise school attendance rates."

Teacher is conducting lesson using AQUOS TOUCH TV, with the student engaged in the learning process

The government has emphasized the social welfare of the Orang Asli from the economic aspect, development, and education using different initiatives. From the education aspect, the government has launched a program Service Learning Malaysia - University For Society (SULAM) to increase the provision for the purpose of transporting the Orang Asli children to school and increasing their pocket money for secondary students from RM2 to RM4.

"The Ministry of Education Malaysia will always welcome the cooperation and CSR programs from different parties that direct towards quality and holistic education," added YB Dato' Dr. Mah Hang Soon.

The MOE has worked with JAKOA and shortlisted Sekolah Kebangsaan Jernang and Sekolah Kebangsaan Pos Bersih for this initiative. As part of its CSR initiative, Sharp will provide two schools in Perak with its Smart Classroom Solution to enable online teaching and hybrid learning while simultaneously increasing the school attendance rate in the midst of an endemic. These schools are among the pioneers to receive the Smart Classroom Solution. Beyond that, Sharp Malaysia is also ready to equip teachers to embrace digital classroom learning through its Smart Classroom Solution training programmes, as part of the effort to elevate the standard of teaching by preparing teachers with the knowledge and training.

The Smart Classroom Solution consists of an AQUOS TOUCH TV – an interactive touch screen for teaching which is designed and manufactured in Malaysia. Sharp also has its expertise and service team here ready to provide aftersales services for the AQUOS TOUCH TV. Other than that, Sharp is also offering Dynabook laptop for a complete video conferencing system, along with a camera and built-in microphone. The new interactive way is able to create an atmosphere for students to learn interactively and innovatively to get the students to be future-ready. As part of the advanced technology, teachers can take advantage of the equipment to conduct more effective teaching sessions while students can learn in an enjoyable environment through the ICT equipment.

YB Dato’ Dr. Mah Hang Soon, Deputy Minister of Education, giving an opening speech at Sekolah Kebangsaan Jernang

Managing Director of Sharp Malaysia, Mr Ting Yang Chung, said "As a responsible multinational company, Sharp is always exploring and finding new ways to help the education field and living community by leveraging our expertise. We see the importance of education towards the next generations and believe that it is our responsibility to provide a comprehensive educational environment, and access to technology for teachers and indigenous children."

"With classrooms moving to digital, we believe that through this collaboration with MOE and JAKOA will be able to help the underprivileged communities and bring the smart solutions to every corner of Malaysia, ensuring no child is left behind," added Ting.

YB Dato’ Dr. Mah Hang Soon signing the Certificate of Appreciations on Sharp’s AQUOS TOUCH TV

Over 200 students and teachers in Sekolah Kebangsaan Jernang and over 170 students and teachers from Sekolah Kebangsaan Pos Bersih will benefit from the Smart Classroom Solution. The solution is aligned with the Orang Asli Education Transformation programme towards expanding the digitalisation and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in schools nationwide. Giving this opportunity to the Orang Asli would benefit the students to get quality and relevant education, which is in line with the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2025.