5 game-changing schools set to compete on world stage

 

SK Luagan’s students learnt the art of filmmaking while raising funds to buy a boat to help them continue with their studies in a flood-prone village.

PETALING JAYA: Five Malaysian schools have been selected to compete for the World’s Best School Prizes, which offers a total prize money of RM1.1 million.

The schools were selected through a shortlisting process and mentored by the education-focused social enterprise LeapEd. In a statement, LeapEd said the education ministry had called for submissions from all schools in Malaysia, and the top-15 entries received a total of RM10,500 in cash while the top-five received a total of RM5,000 in cash.

LeapEd said the schools, which demonstrated leadership that transformed the lives of not only the students but also their communities, were chosen by a panel of judges which included representatives from the education ministry, Yayasan Hasanah and Pemimpin GSL.

A rural school serving a B40 community in Sarawak, SK Luagan, which saw a high rate of absenteeism when the roads were submerged during floods, will compete in the World’s Best School Prizes’ Innovation category.

The school set up an entrepreneurship programme that taught students film development, marketing, financial literacy, creative expression, and leadership skills while helping to raise funds to buy a boat to ferry students to school.

Perlis’ SK Seberang Ramai, a rural school serving a B40 community, will compete in the Community Collaboration category. The school faced significant learning losses as students struggled with remote learning during the Covid-19 pandemic.

With the national registration department’s help, the school worked with villagers to create colourful stations manned by volunteers which featured cooking and gardening classes, traditional games, and mini fitness centres, among others.

Students also began producing and selling homemade goods such as traditional snacks and craft, which generated revenue and resulted in better livelihoods for their families.

Meanwhile, Selangor’s SK Kanchong Darat, a rural school, will compete in the Healthy Lives category. The school saw a decrease in student attendance post-pandemic, and to address the situation, it put together a “Great Mind, Healthy Citizens” programme that encouraged students to attend school while improving physical and emotional health.

Instead of a regular recess, the school organised fun jump rope competitions during break time which attracted students back to school. The school’s imaginative approach to students well-being led to an increase in attendance with improvements in tracked student health data.

The school received recognition at district, state, and national levels for fitness, sports, and a positive school environment which brought the entire community together.

SK Demang Taha in Melaka will compete in the Overcoming Adversity category. The school faced huge challenges during the pandemic’s school closures, including student isolation and decreased confidence.

It engaged school leaders, teaching and non-teaching staff, students, parents, and families to create project-based learning programmes for various subjects which improved student attendance and raised their motivation, self-esteem, confidence, and achievement.

Students learnt English by interviewing tourists, and practised maths skills by selling mango pickles which generated income for their families.

Penang’s SK Seri Permai, which serves an urban B40 community, will compete in the Innovation category after adding lockable compartments to their school desks to reduce the weight of students’ school bags from 10kg to 2.5kg.

The school plans to share their invention with other schools in Malaysia.

Last year, SK Kempadang in rural Kampung Kempadang, Kuantan, Pahang, was named a top 3 finalist from 3,500 shortlisted schools from around the world for the inaugural World’s Best School Prizes in the Innovation category.

It was shortlisted for its Smartzoom innovation, which tracked student progress in real-time during the Covid-19 pandemic when lessons were conducted online. Smartzoom enables teachers to devise data-driven interventions, customised for the specific needs of their students. - FMT