School News

RHB is Committed to Helping B40 Youths Achieve Their Dreams of Pursuing Their Tertiary Education at Local Universities

Published by SchoolAdvisor | May 21, 2021

RHB Banking Group (“RHB” or the “Group”) has contributed RM5 million towards providing primary and secondary school students from lower income families digital devices helping them to gain equal access to online education through the CERDIK initiative, a pilot initiative jointly spearheaded by the Ministry of Finance (“MOF”) and the Ministry of Education (“MOE”).

The CERDIK programme aims to provide digital access to education in helping students from B40 families adapt to online lessons, e-learning, and outside-classroom teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. This comprises two key components – accessibility to devices and data connectivity. 

Under this Programme, RHB will be providing more than 3,600 laptop computers and dongles, mobile connectivity, and the required software for more than 3,600 students in 29 selected schools nationwide.

“The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic brings to light gaps that exist between those who have access to digital education and those who do not. This digital divide will be narrowed further through the CERDIK programme, a collaborative pilot initiative between Government agencies and corporate bodies, towards ensuring equal access to quality education for all students,” said Dato’ Khairussaleh Ramli, Group Managing Director of RHB Banking Group.

Dato’ Khairussaleh Ramli, Group Managing Director of RHB Banking Group.

Participation in the CERDIK initiative complements RHB’s ongoing commitment towards nurturing future generations through a holistic educational programme. Its flagship RHB X-Cel Academic Excellence programme which was launched in 2019, had benefitted a total of more than 1,000 students from B40 and underprivileged families annually, whilst a total of 21 students from the B40 families to-date have been given the RHB X-Cel Star Scholarship programme since its inception in 2019.

“Programmes such as these will help level the playing field to provide equal access and open up opportunities to quality education for high performing students from the underprivileged and B40 youths, enabling them to achieve their dreams of pursuing their tertiary education at local universities,” Dato’ Khairussaleh added.

“We thank RHB Banking Group for their support to CERDIK, one of the most comprehensive pilot initiatives on digital learning in public schools nationwide. CERDIK provides good quality and reliable learning devices to students, and this is paired with technical support, connectivity and warranty. Despite the global supply issues on accessing good quality laptops, CERDIK is now on track to deliver the devices based on the stipulated timelines," said Shahira Ahmed Bazari, Managing Director of Yayasan Hasanah, the Secretariat of Program CERDIK, coordinating the private sector’s support in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education.

These devices are expected to be delivered in batches by the District Education Offices located nearest to deserving students. The first batch was delivered on 26 April 2021 and more devices are expected to be delivered in May 2021.

Please visit www.rhbgroup.com/community-engagement/index.html for more information on RHB Banking Group’s community engagement initiatives.