KUALA LUMPUR – University students under the B40 household income group may be eligible to get smart devices under the Malaysia Family student device package (PerantiSiswa Keluarga Malaysia).
The package is expected to provide devices to at least 600,000 students from the public or private higher learning institutions, colleges or community colleges under the Ministry of Higher Education.
According to Communications and Multimedia Minister, Tan Sri Annuar Musa, students may apply for the packages from mid-April and they are scheduled to receive the devices in June at the earliest.
“Students from low-income families whose parents earn less than RM4,850 per month can apply for the package, which includes mobile devices and internet connectivity to help them with their studies,” he said.
The package was an initiative under Budget 2022 announced in October last year. It is in line with the government’s vision to assist students in their online learning activities, research efforts, and for them to keep in contact with families and friends.
Devices will be packaged with telco plans
The RM450 million allocated for this initiative will be divided amongst the 600,000 students. For that, the government will most likely be adopting the same style where the devices will be packaged under telco companies.
As of now, the collaborating telcos include Celcom, Digi, Maxis, U Mobile, Telekom Malaysia, and YTL Communications.
The minister explained that the government is ensuring the free devices are of high quality that includes a minimum of 4GB RAM, a keyboard, and stylus.
Aside from that, he also proposed a 10% allocation for students specific categories where they may not be in any IPT or even those pursuing postgraduate or certificate education but are unable to afford devices.
As of date, there is no mention on the methods to apply for the devices.
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