NUTP pleased with 50,000 laptops; says it will help the country's digitalisation

SHAH ALAM - The National Union of Teachers (NUTP) lauded the government's move to provide over 50,000 laptops to schools and educational institutions.

Its president, Aminuddin Awang, expressed his hope that these computers which will be supplied later will really meet the specifications of teachers' needs to do work.

"Apart from boosting the country’s digitalisation, the distribution of laptops to schools should be done in a transparent manner," he told Sinar Daily.

The most important aspect of making the Digital Education Policy successful is stable and widespread internet access, he added.

"We very much welcome the step to speed up the implementation of Jalinan Digital Negara (JENDELA), which brings the impact of digital connectivity to 3,700 schools.

"For us teachers, we accept any government initiative in terms of digital connectivity, but the important thing is that NUTP wants teachers to get stable and fast internet service at school to enable them to carry out their duties effectively.

"Most importantly, the government's initiative in digitization is not a "cheerleader," but ultimately burdens teachers due to poor planning and preparation by the Education Ministry, especially in the aspect of the diversity of online systems and applications that are packaged with servers that are not in line with the number of users," he added.

Earlier, the government announced that the Education Ministry would be provided 50,000 laptops to schools and educational institutions.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said it was crucial for both teachers and students to be exposed to and adapt to technology.

"Teachers play an important role in educating children.

"In line with the current modernisation, the teaching and learning needs of teachers need to quickly adapt to digital technology," he said during the re-tabling of Budget 2023 in parliament today.