Next year secondary schools in Malaysia will switch to e-textbooks, announced the country’s Deputy Education Minister (DEM).
Students will be able to download their textbooks as PDF files onto electronic devices such as tablets or laptops for class use. Digital textbooks won’t be available for primary pupils yet.
Details on the new initiative are still being worked out, DEM Teo Nie Ching said. The Ministry of Education is deciding whether to let students download the PDF on their personal or school-provided devices.
“For now it’s only PDF, but eventually we will make it more interactive,” she said.
The announcement was met with mixed reactions, though most educators lauded the move. Primary concern of most was ensuring every student had access to the devices.
“Not all parents can afford to send their kids to private schools. It’s undeniable that private schools are more advanced, but we have to start somewhere, and digital textbooks are the way to go,” said educator Datuk N. Siva Subramaniam.
The education ministry could work with parent-teacher associations and private companies to equip schools with computers, he said.
National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general Harry Tan echoed Siva’s suggestion on partnering private companies.
“Perhaps the ministry can work with the private sector to provide laptops and computers to all students,” he said.
He believes that e-textbooks shouldn’t be downloadable on mobile devices or tablets, however, as students might abuse the privilege if allowed to use devices in school.
“Teachers too will be burdened. Can you imagine if these devices get stolen?”