THE Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has advised that the Education Ministry discontinue the RM4.1bil 1Bestarinet project in schools. However, the decision still lies with the ministry, said PAC chairman Nur Jazlan Mohamed.
“The implementation of the first phase was poor and it shouldn’t be continued, but it is up to the ministry because they are the people in charge of it,” he told reporters after chairing a PAC meeting.
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The PAC inquiry yesterday called up the ministry’s secretary-general Tan Sri Madinah Mohamad, who was appointed to her position in 2013, two years after the scheme started.
“We wanted to hear from her what the future plans are. But she said the project is going to continue,” he said.
Nur Jazlan, who is also the Pulai MP, said the project had not met its target. He hopes to complete the investigation by next month after speaking to three more witnesses.
The 1BestariNet is a project initiated by the Malaysian Ministry of Education (MoE) and carried out in partnership with YTL Communications.
Under the project, 10,000 primary and secondary public schools in Malaysia will be equipped with high-speed 4G Internet access and a virtual learning platform, providing fast and reliable Internet connectivity as well as access to a world-class Integrated Learning Solution known as The Frog VLE.
While the MoE manages and finances deployment of 1BestariNet, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) got the task of providing the devices to access it on, and this led to the 1Malaysia Netbook programme.
Under the programme, the MCMC will distribute one million netbooks to students from low-income families altogether earning less than RM3,000 per month, in areas designated as eligible for the Universal Service Fund (USF).
Following the privatisation of telecommunications service providers into profit-oriented companies, it was found that they generally avoid deployment of infrastructure and services in rural areas which usually have many low income families and which are unlikely for the operators to realise a return on their investment.
So several countries, including Malaysia introduced a USF to help bridge the communications divide.
In Malaysia, all communication network operators pay 6% of their annual income into the USF and the MCMC utilises it to pay for communications infrastructure and service deployment in USF areas.
The 1Malaysia Netbook programme seeks to address the digital divide and enable low-income families to be part of a Digital Malaysia.
“The implementation of the first phase was poor and it shouldn’t be continued, but it is up to the ministry because they are the people in charge of it,” he told reporters after chairing a PAC meeting.
The PAC inquiry yesterday called up the ministry’s secretary-general Tan Sri Madinah Mohamad, who was appointed to her position in 2013, two years after the scheme started.
“We wanted to hear from her what the future plans are. But she said the project is going to continue,” he said.
Nur Jazlan, who is also the Pulai MP, said the project had not met its target. He hopes to complete the investigation by next month after speaking to three more witnesses.
The 1BestariNet is a project initiated by the Malaysian Ministry of Education (MoE) and carried out in partnership with YTL Communications.
Under the project, 10,000 primary and secondary public schools in Malaysia will be equipped with high-speed 4G Internet access and a virtual learning platform, providing fast and reliable Internet connectivity as well as access to a world-class Integrated Learning Solution known as The Frog VLE.
While the MoE manages and finances deployment of 1BestariNet, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) got the task of providing the devices to access it on, and this led to the 1Malaysia Netbook programme.
Under the programme, the MCMC will distribute one million netbooks to students from low-income families altogether earning less than RM3,000 per month, in areas designated as eligible for the Universal Service Fund (USF).
Following the privatisation of telecommunications service providers into profit-oriented companies, it was found that they generally avoid deployment of infrastructure and services in rural areas which usually have many low income families and which are unlikely for the operators to realise a return on their investment.
So several countries, including Malaysia introduced a USF to help bridge the communications divide.
In Malaysia, all communication network operators pay 6% of their annual income into the USF and the MCMC utilises it to pay for communications infrastructure and service deployment in USF areas.
The 1Malaysia Netbook programme seeks to address the digital divide and enable low-income families to be part of a Digital Malaysia.