PerantiSiswa initiative helps bridge digital gap among B40 tertiary students

By Aisha Hani Nor Azmir and Muhamad Adil Muzaffar Mohd Fisol

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 (Bernama) -- The government’s PerantiSiswa Keluarga Malaysia initiative is capable of bridging the digital gap among tertiary students from the B40 group through the provision of free mobile devices.

The targeted assistance is aimed at enabling the students from the group to obtain digital access at their respective higher education institutions so that they would not be left behind in their studies.

The PerantiSiswa initiative was announced during the tabling of Budget 2022 last year in line with the government’s aspiration to ensure that every student would have a mobile device and internet access at a reasonable cost to continue attending their online classes and using the Internet for research and educational purposes.

The PerantiSiswa Keluarga Malaysia package is the government’s initiative with the cooperation of selected telecommunication companies to supply a tablet to every B40 student pursuing studies at higher learning institutions.

Samsung-brand tablets were selected to be distributed to the students in five zones, namely Sabah and Sarawak, northern, central, eastern and southern zones.

A total of 335,960 applications have been received for the first and second phases of the initiative, 105,665 of which have been approved as of Sept 14, according to the principal assistant secretary of the Infrastructure and Application Division of the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (K-KOMM) Hariaty Mohd Idrus.

The first phase of the PerantiSiswa initiative was opened from April to May, while the second phase, from Aug 29 to Sept 30, with an estimated 350,000 PerantiSiswa tablets to be distributed.

“Of the total 95,882 applications received in the first phase, 60,397 or 63 per cent of the applicants were found qualified, while the remaining 35,485 or 37 per cent were still being processed.

“Still being processed means that the applications need further checks and verification in terms of qualification, B40 status and education level, which must be done by the Ministry of Higher Education,” she told Bernama when contacted.

She said that of the total applications in the first phase, 57,233 or 59.7 per cent were from students of public universities, followed by 24,801 (25.9 per cent) from private institutions, 11,884 (12.4 per cent) from polytechnics and 1,964 (two per cent) from community colleges.

A total of 100,000 of the B40 students are expected to benefit from the initiatives, with the tablets being distributed starting last June.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob when launching the initiative at UiTM Shah Alam on Sept 3 also announced that the recipients of the tablets did not have to return the tablet upon graduation and will get to keep their devices for free.

Under the previous initiative through a loan scheme concept, students have to return their devices upon graduation.

The application for PerantiSiswa can be made at https://perantisiswa.kkmm.gov.my/ , and the results for the applications can be checked from Aug 29 at the same website.

Among the eligibility criteria for application are being a Malaysian citizen, from a B40 group household earning RM4,850 and below, pursuing full-time courses at the diploma, advanced diploma or degree level, and not a final-year student in 2022.

-- BERNAMA