Over 300 Orang Asli kids persuaded to attend school, says deputy minister

KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy Education Minister Lim Hui Ying has revealed that a total of 373 Orang Asli children in 15 schools across the nation have been convinced to attend school as of May this year. She stated that the Education Ministry has implemented the ‘Jom Belajar’ (Let’s Learn) program, as well as the ‘Chup Badui Sikulah’ (CBS), to provide basic education to Orang Asli children in rural areas who have never experienced schooling.

Lack of access to basic education due to rural living conditions and inadequate infrastructure and logistics facilities have been identified as the reasons for the high rate of school dropout among Orang Asli children, according to Lim. She mentioned that the ministry has been organizing engagement sessions and Ziarah kasih with the Orang Asli community in their villages in order to address the problem of children dropping out of school.

Likewise, the ministry is collaborating with the Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to locate Orang Asli children who are eligible for education but are not attending school. Additionally, the ministry has expanded the Comprehensive Special Model School Year 9 (K9) and the Comprehensive Special Model School Year 11 (K11) to address the issue of Orang Asli students who reside in remote areas.

In terms of digital education, Lim said that the ministry is making efforts to ensure that students have access to devices that support digital technology for teaching and learning. She noted that the success of this endeavor depends on the government’s financial capacity and collaboration with strategic partners from various government and private agencies to provide devices to students.

The Deputy Minister also stated that the Digital Education Policy (DPD) is focused on providing digital devices to every student through various means. This policy consists of six cores, including producing digital-savvy students, digitally-competent educators, visionary digital leadership culture, improving infrastructure and infostructure, digital education content, and strategic partnerships.