Kuala lumpur: A total of 387 Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil (SJKT) will receive 400 smartboards, with an allocation of RM5 million, before the upcoming school term begins on January 10, Deputy Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Seri R Ramanan announced. The initiative is aimed at enhancing the education infrastructure of these schools.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the schools were selected based on data from the Education Ministry's Asset Management Division. Under this initiative, each school with 800 or fewer pupils will receive one smartboard, while those with more than 800 pupils will receive two. The initiative is facilitated through the Malaysian Indian Community Transformation Unit (MITRA).

"This initiative is another commitment by the government to strengthen the SJKT education ecosystem, especially through the provision of modern facilities to schools so that pupils are not left behind in the national digitalisation wave in line with the Malaysia MADANI aspirations," said Ramanan. He emphasized the importance of equipping schools to become digital learning hubs, fostering skills such as critical thinking, creativity, and technology competencies. This statement was made during the launch of the initiative at SJKT Vivekananda in Brickfields, attended by Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek and her deputy, Wong Kah Woh.

In addition to the smartboard initiative, the government has previously allocated RM12.8 million for upgrading equipment, furniture, and maintenance in 305 Tamil primary schools. Furthermore, RM8 million has been designated for the MADANI Kalvi Free Tuition programme targeting Indian B40 families, and RM7.87 million for the Private Kindergarten Early Education Subsidy.

"Through these initiatives, MITRA has allocated RM33.67 million, which accounts for one-third of its allocation for early and primary education for Indian pupils this year," Ramanan added.