NEWS: 2,000 smart schools by end of next year

WITH 15 rural schools recently added to the 88 smart schools in April this year, Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) along with the Education Ministry is looking at increasing the number of smart schools 100-fold by the end of next year.

At a recent luncheon with the media, MDeC general manager Dr Norrizan Razali said, “We are very much on schedule in carrying this out, and by the end of 2010, we should have 10,000 smart schools in the country.”

She said that in order to achieve an exponential growth like this, current smart schools would have to be models to the other schools, and through a “buddy system,” teachers would be able to learn new teaching methods from those currently teaching in smart schools.

She added that the criteria for selection would be based on their academic readiness and location.

Since 2007, smart schools have been evaluated through a measurement tool implemented by the ministry and MDeC, which is called the Smart School Qualification Standards (SSQS).

Teachers, students and administrators use the SSQS each year to run an evaluation of their performance, and from there, the ministry and MDeC would rate these schools.

“There are currently 69 schools out of the 88 that have a five-star rating, which means that these schools are in the advanced stage,” said Norrizan.

She added that out of the 10,000 smart schools next year, 500 were expected to get five-star rating while 2,000 were expected to get four-star status. “The minimum for smart schools is three-stars,” she said.

Norrizan said that the smart school concept would be applicable to all schools as it is not only meant for smaller classrooms, rather, “the smart school system is one that could be implemented into any classroom, big or small, because it is there to aid the current syllabus and make learning a wholesome one.” — By ALYCIA LIM