MUKAH: If in the past they had to stay up late to get a better internet signal to send out school assignments, now students in the Mukah area can do so faster and smoother at any time of the day.
It follows the improved broadband services in Sarawak, through the implementation of the National Digital Network (JENDELA) phase one (2020-2022) to upgrade telecommunication networks, especially in rural areas.
Form Six student of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sungai Paoh in Sarikei, Masturah Masnu, 20, said that she used to have to wait almost an hour to submit school assignments in the form of documents, but now the process only takes two minutes.
“It used to take 30 minutes to upload a 4MB document, and sometimes, an hour. Now after the upgrade, I no longer send homework late, as it only takes one to two minutes,” she said when met by Bernama at her home in Mukah recently.
Under JENDELA phase one (2020-2022), Sarawak received an allocation of RM4.09 billion from the federal government to expand and improve broadband services including in rural areas, and in preparation for the transition to 5G technology.
At the same time, the government’s initiative to offer the Malaysian Family Youth Package, a special prepaid package to help teenagers and students gain internet access for online learning from home without any data constraints, also gives students a ray of light to live a new norm that is largely digital.
Recalling an incident of being reprimanded by her teacher for submitting school assignments late, Masturah said she had to stay up at night despite having completed the assignments earlier, due to the slow broadband signal as she could not upload the documents.
“In the past, the last person to send in school assignments was me because the connectivity was so weak. Sometimes I had to get out of the house and sit in a park or a friend’s house to find a network signal.
“Now with 4G quality in rural areas and the Youth Package offered, I can continue to send my homework whenever it is ready.
“These improvements help students like myself a lot so that we do not miss out on home-based teaching and learning (PdPR) session,” she said.
The Youth Package was launched on Oct 14 last year and offered until April 15 next year, is an initiative of the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (KKMM), to help teenagers and students gain internet access for online learning from home without any data constraints, while increasing productivity.
It is a new prepaid package that allows students to take advantage of 20 gigabytes (GB) of data for three months for just RM30 (RM10 fee per month) for daily activities, as well as unlimited basic internet.
Annisa Hardy Ismandy, 20, said that the youth package has greatly reduced the expenses incurred by her parents, because previously they had to pay RM35 a month, and had to top up whenever the data had been used up.
“This package facilitates my learning without any problems. In the past, I did not visit social media because I wanted to save the data, but now I can not only do so without worry, but also make video calls with my parents if I stay in a school dormitory,” she said.
Nur Fitri Syuhada Julaihi, 20, said that the package not only benefited students in learning activities, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also provided opportunities for teenagers to venture into online business.
“Apart from utilising this package for PdPR activities, I also did not miss the opportunity to sell clothes and headscarves on social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook, to earn some income to reduce my family burden,” she said.
For Dinna Nirmala Najor, 15, the broadband service in her area is now faster, which allows her to find information about school assignments smoothly, without having to walk outside her home to find a signal.
“This package gives a better experience to surf the internet without interruption because the speed is very good. Now I can do research and complete assignments given by teachers faster, as I get information quickly on social sites.
“Apart from that, I used to only be able to make phone calls with my parents while staying in the school dormitory, but now I can make video calls due to good connectivity,” said the Form Three student of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Sibu. – Bernama
