Alternatively, Sekolah Anak Malaysia beckons
For parents whose children have challenges in attending national schools or who want to elevate their potential where the default private education system is beyond their reach and are on the lookout for an alternative route, Sekolah Anak Malaysia or SAM may well be the answer.
SAM is Malaysia’s first digital school which enrols students from the ages of 12 to 15, adopting the national school curriculum with the view of preparing for the school-leaving examination Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM). While the number of applications was well over 200, fewer than 40 were selected to become the pioneer batch filling the Form One class of 18, with the balance split between Forms Two and Three.
The students begin interacting with their teachers online at 8am informally, with some needing pastoral care more than others. Formal classes begin at 9am, with periods lasting 30 minutes and 15-minute intervals in between. Project-based work, consuming eight weeks each time, with clear learning objectives begin at 12.30pm, while co-curricular activities such as e-sports and activities by the Malaysian Red Crescent Society are conducted online as well.
Students pursue only six core subjects, which is the minimum set by the Ministry of Education (MoE), instead of eight, which many parents have come to believe is the number of principal subjects. The emphasis is on the depth of knowledge rather than the breadth of the curriculum, focusing on the process of learning, a future-ready curriculum and real-world experience. Innovation is key to implementing a transformative approach as opposed to the traditional way of regurgitating facts and figures.
SAM addresses the challenges faced by teachers in national schools, such as class size, the broad content of topics in the syllabus and the limited time allocated for each subject. The Dual Language Programme (DLP) thrives, where science and mathematics are taught in the English language, the language of knowledge. With the onset of artificial intelligence (AI) in daily life, where growth in AI is seen at a rate of 180% more in English than a mere fifth of that in Malay, the English language is still supreme. Each subject is supported by six well-trained and highly motivated teachers. Report card day is a participative and engaging conversation between the teacher, the student and the parent, in a tripartite relationship, witnessing and reflecting upon the child’s progress and achievements.
The person behind SAM is none other than Shahnaz Al-Sadat Abdul Mohsein, the mastermind and chair of LeapEd, the civil society organisation behind the trust schools’ fame, having raised funding through private-public partnerships (PPP) and backed by Khazanah Nasional Bhd, almost 100 to date.
At the start of the academic year, there was such an overwhelming number of students being enrolled at Sekolah Kebangsaan Cyberjaya that MoE had to put up temporary cabins to accommodate the new students. Word had got around among parents that SK Cyberjaya is a trust school and they wanted in.
The MoE has not just adopted the trust school concept, albeit in a miniscule manner but has instead, sadly, prevented any more trust schools from opening, even with PPP funding. However, without the precision interventions in place by MoE, trust schools will become barely sustainable and, even though they enjoy a high rate of return on investment, may be doomed to fail.
Shahnaz was recently shortlisted as a finalist for The World Education Medals award, founded by T4 Education and HP, recognising “the tireless work of those helping to build a world in which every child receives a good education”. While we wait with bated breath for the announcement of the winners, we congratulate her for her dedication, conviction and commitment to the children of Malaysia.
SAM provides 100 scholarships for students whose monthly household income is RM7,100 and below. In this pioneer cohort, 80% of its students have secured scholarships funded by Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd (PayNet), the national payments network and shared central infrastructure for Malaysia’s financial market, with Bank Negara Malaysia as its largest shareholder and 11 financial institutions as joint shareholders.
Digital schools may well be the future of education in Malaysia. Our children are born digital natives. It is a safe place and they are well positioned in what will be their working environment in the future. SAM places emphasis on the human side of learning, which must not be neglected at all costs, “where sleep right, eat right, move right and connect right” are critical guiding principles.
With still more than 1,000 double-session schools existing in overpopulated urban areas, especially in Selangor, and the challenges that come along with these, the problem remains unresolved. If scaled up, digital schools — with PPP funding in place (corporations, take note), properly and adequately invested in, and being given due attention — may be a solution to offering a better quality of education with the right cybergogy in closing policy implementation gaps.
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