After more than two years and a billion ringgit spent, 1BestariNet is used by less than three percent of students, says DAP’s Zairil Khir Johari.

“This raises the question of whether 1BestariNet will suffer the same fate of the PPSMI project, where more than RM3 billion was spent on IT hardware to facilitate the teaching of Mathematics and Science in English. Unfortunately, most of the hardware remains unused in school storerooms.

“Based on a parliamentary reply I received, it would appear that my fears have come true,” says Zairil, the MP for Bukit Bendera.

The 1BestariNet project, which began its rollout more than two years ago, has cost taxpayers more than RM1 billion.

RM663 million was spent for a two-and-a-half year broadband Internet contract, RM250.3 million for virtual learning environment (VLE) licensing fees and RM262.8 million for management and maintenance costs.

“As a matter of principle, I do not dispute the use of information technology (IT) in schools, as it has wide potential in terms of cultivating creativity and allowing access to infinite knowledge,” said Zairil ( left ).

“However, the wisdom of rolling the system out in all 10,000 schools at one go, without taking into account factors such as the local context, capabilities of teachers and abilities of students to utilise this infrastructure is definitely questionable.”

To date, a total of 8,886 schools have been equipped with the 1BestariNet infrastructure.

'Only 137,237 students logged on in one week'

However, data for the week of Sept 5 to Sept 11 shows that only 137,237 students logged into the VLE system.

“Out of this number, only 76,096 or 55 per cent actually used it for more than 30 minutes that week,” Zairil said, adding that this confirmed that the system is being used by less than three per cent of students.

The DAP assistant national publicity secretary said the Education Ministry must answer whether YTL, the telecommunications giant that was awarded the project, would be given a contract extension.

“At the same time, the ministry must also explain how it intends to encourage greater use of this system and ensure that billions in taxpayer money is not wasted on another white elephant project.”

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