Tamil education goes online
STUDENTS in vernacular Tamil primary schools can now access educational content online, apart from those available in their textbooks and reference materials.
Accessible through an online platform, the recently launched free content in Tamil for primary school students was made available through a collaboration between online education provider EduNation and the Education Ministry.
Deputy Education Minister Datuk P Kamalanathan said the launch of the content coincides with the celebration of 200 years of Tamil Education in Malaysia.
The first Tamil class was held at Penang Free School on Oct 21, 1816, and it was taught by teachers from Tamil Nadu using an imported syllabus. Today, it is based on the Malaysian syllabus.
“Tamil schools in Malaysia have undergone numerous improvements in terms of facilities and infrastructure. Over the years, we have seen Tamil education grow in leaps and bounds. Apart from these cosmetic changes we also see many students, both Indians and non-Indians, enrolling into Tamil schools,” said Kamalanathan.
“I am confident the incorporation of technology in Tamil education will help ignite interest among our Indian community, especially our students,” he noted.
“Since education is lifelong, this platform will be an excellent oppor- tunity for the holistic involvement of students, teachers, parents and even grandparents in guiding their children or grandchildren with their school lessons. They can also learn Tamil language available that is based on our national primary school syllabus,” said Kamalanathan.
He added that Tamil education will make its way to the forefront of the education landscape through the use of technology.
“It is essential for us to maintain our unique identity, language and culture and at the same time, expose our future generation to the beauty of the Tamil language.”
Kamalanathan said the Malaysian education is one that is fast evolving to suit the needs of the students.
“At the ministry, we strive to embrace change, especially technological advancements. Our students now belong to a tech-savvy generation with knowledge and information at their fingertips.
“Initiatives like EduNation through online resources is an important part of the education ecosystem for students, regardless of their socioeconomic background,” he added.
For its Tamil content, EduNation through online resources is producing the national primary school syllabus for Tamil language, science and mathematics.
Students can use these online content for free by visiting the portal. Students can also download e-books, test papers as well as track their progress on the portal.
Currently, the Year 3 Mathematics syllabus in Tamil as well as Year One Tamil language is online and can be viewed on www.edunation. my.
Fully sponsored by Brickfields Asia College (BAC), EduNation aims to complete the rest of the syllabus by the first quarter of 2017.
EduNation has been providing free online education for all Malaysian students from primary to secondary school since August 2012.
BAC Education Group Managing Director and EduNation Malaysia Founder Raja Singham said: “We believe in the power of education to change lives. Thus, this initiative like is important to provide access to quality education for all Malaysians, regardless of their socio-economic background.
“Today’s launch is one more way for us to reach out to students and provide them with the extra support they need to excel in their studies.
“We hope students will reap the benefits of the portal.”
EduNation and the Education Ministry collaborated to make the free content available on a portal