YTL Foundation today announced the five schools that will be receiving a RM20,000 grant each in the inaugural edition of the YTL Foundation Schools Awards which was launched earlier this year for schools with Frog Classrooms. The grants support schools in building innovations in teaching and learning, building learning communities, and building learning environments that promote 21st Century skills.

“We are very pleased to see the enthusiasm of the schools and the high quality of the proposals we received in this inaugural YTL Foundation Schools Awards. Although only five awards were awarded this year, we hope that all schools will keep up their passion and apply again in the next edition of the awards. At YTL Foundation, we firmly believe in the importance and value of 21st Century teaching and learning methods and we are excited to see how the individual schools are creatively proposing the application of these methods to address the unique local needs and challenges in each of their schools,” said Datin Kathleen Chew, Programme Director of YTL Foundation.

“This awards programme is also in line with our ongoing work in partnership with the Ministry of Education Malaysia and other partners to expand access to 21st Century learning in Malaysia. The Government acknowledges the importance of ensuring that all schools derive optimal benefit from 21st Century learning and they are catalysing change with initiatives such as the allocation of RM190 million in Budget 2018 to upgrade 2,000 classrooms for 21st Century learning. This awards programme is just one more small effort that we have rolled out towards achieving our mutual goal of ensuring 21st Century learning for all,” she added.

The five recipients of the augural batch of the award grants are SK Ampangan, Negeri Sembilan; SMK (P) Pudu, Kuala Lumpur, SMK Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi, Selangor; SMK Tengku Mahmud 2, Terengganu and SK Seri Bayu, Perak.

Schools were required to submit a detailed plan which included a budget, timeline and expected outcomes. The proposals needed to focus on how the schools were to improve one or more of these key supporting areas of 21st Century Learning: Leadership & Culture, Operations, Teaching & Learning, Content, Professional Development and Technology. The proposals received were assessed based on a holistic set of criteria which included practicality, sustainability, creativity and potential impact on 21st Century learning in the school.

Speaking at the awards event held at SK Ampangan in Seremban, the school’s Headmaster Tuan Haji Hamzah bin Hj Koleh said, “At SK Ampangan we firmly believe in the importance and value of 21st Century teaching and learning. We appreciate this awards initiative by YTL Foundation, which provides an opportunity to schools nationwide to earn funding for their initiatives by having feasible and sustainable plans. We will certainly make use of the grant in the most efficient way possible to elevate teaching and learning at our school, and we are all looking forward to reaping the benefits of this improvement.”

Disbursement of the grant funding will be done in two stages – RM15,000 will be awarded to the recipient schools to fund the rollout of the proposed improvements, while the remaining RM5,000 will be disbursed to the schools after the completion of the project as outlined in the winning proposal.

The Frog Classroom Programme – an initiative by YTL Foundation in collaboration with FrogAsia, provider of the Frog VLE (Virtual Learning Environment), aims to transform classrooms throughout Malaysia into 21st Century learning spaces that promote technology-enabled, student-focused learning. Frog Classrooms are equipped with 4G Internet, Chromebooks that provide access to the Frog VLE, as well as the programme’s hallmark curved tables, which are designed to create more opportunities for peer-led learning and interaction. Students are guided in honing 21st Century learning skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, decision-making, collaboration and cooperation, as well as soft skills like communications.

Schools interested to submit entries in next year’s YTL Foundation Schools Awards as well as corporations keen to support the programme can visit www.ytlfoundation.com for more information and to see the latest announcements. Only schools that have never received the YTL Foundation Schools Awards are eligible to receive an award.

Source: http://www.newstream.asia/community/inaugural-ytl-foundation-school-awards-announces-five-schools-recipients/