KUALA LUMPUR: Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said the learning devices, or tablets, for university students from B40 group are expected to be distributed in June.
He said currently, the Finance Ministry was in the final phase of choosing the device distributor and tablet brand through an open tender process.
He said the brands will be announced next week after the award has been granted to a distributor.
Annuar ensured that the tablets will not be of 'cap ayam' (low quality) or original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) products.
"The ministry has set a certain minimum requirement, such as the screen size must not be less than 10.1 inches, or the tablet's random-access-memory (RAM) size must not be less than 4 RAM.
"This is to ensure the products will be of premium quality… instead of 'cap ayam'. The tablets will be a market-recognised brand.
"We want to make sure only the best quality, including after-sales service and warranty are provided for the tablet recipients," he told the press after the Peranti Siswa Keluarga Malaysia programme soft launch.
During the launch, the ministry together with the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) unveiled the logo for the programme, at the Multimedia University (MMU), in Cyberjaya, today.
Annuar said the budget for the device procurement will not exceed the allocation by the Finance Ministry.
"All device procurements will not exceed the budget allocated, which is around RM450 million, and we estimate to procure over 350,000 tablets, based on the statistics of B40 university students given by the MOHE.
"For now, we can't give an exact number of tablets to be distributed in the first rollout this June, since this programme is open to students who need a learning device, instead of rigidly students from the B40 communities," he said.
He said the tablets will be given to higher learning institutions (IPT), where the management will handle the distribution to applicants.
"The programme is open to university students studying diploma and bachelor's degree courses. We understand that some courses need tablets of higher specs, and we are looking to improve this as the programme goes.
"The tablet distribution process might also take some time as we have more than 260 polytechnics and community colleges in Malaysia.
"We also aim to set up a specific one-stop-centre at each institution, in case the students have issues with the device, like if they received a faulty unit that needs to be changed or fixed".
He said the tablet recipients will only get to use the device during their course of studies to avoid any misuse such as selling or giving it to others.
"I hope that any students, especially from the B40 communities that already have their own devices will opt out from applying.
"This is to ensure that those who really need the learning devices could benefit from this programme," he said.
Also present at the launch was Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad, Communication and Multimedia Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Mohammad Mentek, and MMU president Professor Datuk Seri Mazliham Mohd Su'ud.
Noraini said 75 per cent (518,561 people) of IPT students, nationwide, were from B40 families.
She said the ministry has distributed over 10,000 laptops to students in need, in the last two years.
"Learning devices are necessities for students these days, especially when we adopted home-based teaching and learning (PdPR) during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We hope through this cooperation, there will be no more students left behind in their studies due to lack of devices," she said.
Students who wish to apply for the tablet may do so via the Peranti Siswa programme website at https://perantisiswa.kkmm.gov.my from 8am tomorrow.
