YES PRIHATIN ENSURES B40 CHILDREN KEEP LEARNING

 Worried about how your children will stay connected to their teachers and schools when students across the country return to online-based teaching and learning from May 17 due to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases? 

B40 families will be glad to hear that YES today announced the rollout of its YES PRIHATIN plans, which offer all eligible B40 families and individuals free smartphones, one year’s worth of free data and free access to online learning content,  in partnership with YTL Foundation and learning content platform FrogAsia. The plans were launched on May 5 under the Government’s Jaringan PRIHATIN initiative.

By choosing YES PRIHATIN, B40 families will have full access to YTL Foundation’s Learn from Home learning content, which includes free lessons in Bahasa Melayu, English, Mathematics, and Science from Primary 1 to Form 5 mapped to the Malaysian syllabus, as well as access to revision quizzes in all core subjects through FrogAsia’s FrogPlay mobile app. All 1,272 Learn From Home lessons are available on the YTL Foundation website and on the FrogPlay App together, along with more than 13,000 quizzes, making learning and revising easily accessible to all students with a smartphone. 

The Jaringan Prihatin programme was first announced by the government in the Budget 2021 tabling last November as a subsidy initiative to help B40 families and individuals pay for data plans. As the rakyat’s telco, YES saw an important gap that also needed to be bridged - accessibility and connectivity, especially for the continuation of education. 

“For over a year, the pandemic has disrupted the lives of the rakyat in countless ways. Education for school children is no exception, more so in low income families that cannot afford data or devices for their children to attend their virtual lessons. As the schooling situation in Malaysia remains uncertain, it is crucial that B40 families have access to resources to help their children continue to learn. That is why we feel it is imperative that B40 families have devices, free data and the learning content,” said YTL Communications Sdn Bhd Managing Director Dato’ Yeoh Seok Hong.

YES, YTL Foundation and FrogAsia have been huge advocates and supporters of the B40 community. When the first Movement Control Order came into effect in March 2020, the three organisations came together to initiate the Learn-From-Home programme, designed to connect school children digitally to their schools and other learning resources on the platform. The YES PRIHATIN plans are a continuation of these efforts. 

“Education is a powerful tool that can unlock many possibilities. When we remove the barrier to education by making online learning accessible to all, we are giving every child a chance to succeed and achieve more. This YES PRIHATIN initiative will impact the lives of these children and by boosting literacy, we are also contributing to our nation’s development in the long term,” said YTL Foundation Programme Director Dato’ Kathleen Chew.  

The initiative has been extremely meaningful to the families, single parents and students in B40 communities across the country. To date, the YTL Foundation, in partnership with YES and FrogAsia, has distributed more than 18 million GB of free data, 450,000 free SIMs and 100,000 free phones to those who most need it. The programme was extended to all university undergraduates in July 2020, and to the 230,000 teacher members of the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) in April this year. 

As Malaysia continues to battle through the uncertainties of the pandemic, YES continues to keep all the B40 families learning by making online education accessible to everyone. Apply for the YES PRIHATIN plans now at www.yes.my/kasiupB40 or via the MyYes App. 

Additionally, anyone can help a B40 family by nominating them for a free phone and data  at www.ytlfoundation.org/learnfromhome.