KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 25 — Yayasan Hasanah, a sister entity of Khazanah Nasional Bhd, will provide laptops, tablets and data connectivity to students from lower-income families under the Cerdik initiative starting next month.

Cerdik, a pilot initiative announced in Budget 2021, aims to help these students adapt to the new norm of online lessons, e-learning, and outside-classroom teaching.

The foundation, which is the secretariat of the initiative, said in a statement that it involves contributions worth RM150 million from 13 government-linked investment companies and government-linked companies such as Khazanah, Permodalan Nasional Bhd, Employees Provident Fund, and Petroliam Nasional Bhd.

The student and school selection under the Cerdik initiative is determined by the Education Ministry (MOE).

Yayasan Hasanah said the ministry has also carefully decided on the hardware and software specifications to ensure sustainable implementation including warranty support, usability, and longer shelf life for future digital learning.

MOE secretary-general Datuk Yusran Shah Mohd Yusof said the ministry wants to bridge the learning gap between those who can afford digital devices and those who cannot.

"We hope this initiative will pilot digital learning models for future adoptions,” he said.

Meanwhile, Yayasan Hasanah managing director Shahira Ahmed Bazari said the foundation is committed to supporting innovative and scalable learning models that promote equity and level the playing field to enable access to quality learning for all.

"Yayasan Hasanah has been working closely with MOE in the design of the Cerdik initiative to ensure its sustainable implementation, and we are working towards accelerating the pace of distribution (from February onwards),” she said. — Bernama