KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 — The Education Ministry (MOE) will bridge the digital divide through the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2026-2035 (RPM), by strengthening infrastructure across its institutions be they in urban or rural areas, said Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh.
He said schools will be equipped with high-speed internet access, while ensuring students achieve at least an intermediate level of digital competence based on a Digital Competence Score.
He said the effort would be supplemented by the Digital Education Policy and the Digital Educational Learning Initiative Malaysia (DELIMa) platform, which provides digital learning materials.
“All digital materials and inputs have been uploaded to the DELIMa platform, and to support this effort, we will ensure schools are equipped with high-speed internet access.
“This is important to ensure our children and teachers have direct access to the internet and the digital education agenda,” he said in response to a supplementary question from Ahmad Johnie Zawawi (GPS-Igan) about measures to narrow the digital divide, during the oral question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Wong said MOE also ensures the fair distribution of digital devices and education resources to reduce the access gap between urban and rural areas.
Responding to a question from Kamal Ashaari (PN-Kuala Krau), Wong said that under the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2025, the gap in the average grade for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) 2024 between urban and rural students had been lowered by 26.23 per cent.
The gender gap in SPM certificate eligibility meanwhile also decreased by 52.78 per cent, while the socio-economic status gap decreased by 57.75 per cent.
To continue this achievement, Wong said MOE would ensure improved access to quality education while prioritising infrastructure development and the upgrading of dilapidated schools.
Meanwhile, he said teacher well-being remains a focus for MOE, with seven measures introduced since 2023 to reduce teachers’ workload, including the removal of redundant record-keeping.
