IPOH: The Education Ministry is tightening safeguards to protect children in the digital age, with new guidelines on tablet use and collaborations with banks to boost financial literacy and online safety, says Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh (pic).
He said with the government pushing digital education and ICT learning, students would inevitably be exposed to tablet use at school and at home.
“To address this, the ministry has issued guidelines on the responsible use of tablets for both teachers and students,” he told reporters after the groundbreaking ceremony for the Special Education Integrated Programme (PPKI) classroom at SJK(C) Chung Tack here yesterday.
Wong said financial literacy and online safety awareness are also being strengthened through collaborations with financial institutions such as Alliance Bank and Public Bank.
“Our goal is to ensure children grow up with strong awareness of how to protect themselves and manage their finances responsibly,” he added.
His comments follow ongoing concerns over online child exploitation, with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission working with national and global partners, and Suhakam urging tighter safeguards on e-wallet use among minors.
On concerns over the RM8.4mil Jalur Gemilang badge initiative, Wong stressed that it did not divert funds from school safety or maintenance.
“Every year, more than RM600mil is allocated for school maintenance, RM400mil for emergency repairs and disaster response, and about RM800mil between 2023 and 2024 specifically for upgrading school toilets,” he said.
Wong added that the badge initiative, launched in April to instil patriotism, was managed by state Education Departments and involved 91 local suppliers.
Each badge costs 75-80sen, with two given to every student at RM1.60 per student.
He dismissed allegations of inflated costs and cronyism as “false” and said parents had the flexibility to use sticker versions, sewn badges or printed shirts as long as they followed size and placement guidelines.
Wong also urged aspiring teachers to consider specialising in special education.
He said there are currently 10,359 special educators in primary schools nationwide, but the need is rising sharply.
“While popular options such as Malay, Chinese, English and Mathematics remain important, there is now a pressing need for more teachers to specialise in special education.
“Every year, the Teacher Education Institutes offer an intake for special education. We sincerely hope more aspiring teachers will choose this option as their career pathway,” he said.
As of July 31, there were 6,799 PPKI classes nationwide, supported by 10,316 teachers.
