PUTRAJAYA will focus on implementing digital education, said Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

The country’s digital education policy is a step towards having a digitally fluent generation while also boosting the quality of education in the country, he said in a special address in conjunction with the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government’s first anniversary in power.

“There are three main purposes. Firstly, we want to create a generation fluent in digital knowledge and skills, and able to produce innovations using digital technology.

“Secondly, the policy is to enhance the competencies and professional development of stakeholders related to the leadership and integration of digital technology in education; and finally, to bridge the digital divide to produce responsible citizens and function in a knowledge society based on pure values,” he said.

Online education has come to the fore during the past year amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Schools were closed for most of the year and teaching and learning conducted online.

However, this posed problems for many lower-income and rural families, who lacked enough devices for their children to follow online lessons, along with unstable internet connectivity.

Muhyiddin was sworn in as prime minister after convincing Umno, PAS, former PKR leaders and Sarawak parties to form a government last March. 

He struggled with a slim parliamentary majority and was a minority government for a while after two Umno lawmakers withdrew their support for him last month.

Yesterday, however, he gained the support of two MPs from PKR who quit their party to two become government-friendly independents.

Julau MP Larry Sng and Tebrau MP Steven Choong both signed statutory declarations supporting the PN government. – March 1, 2021.