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HONG KONG, Jan. 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited ("NetDragon" or "the Company", Hong Kong Stock Code: 777), a global leader in building internet communities, wishes to announce the recent approval of the first phase statewide project to adopt NetDragon's Education Technology Smart Classroom Solution by Minister Datuk Seri Michael Manyin of Malaysia's Sarawak Education, Science and Technological Research Ministry.
This partnership with the largest state of Malaysia follows the signing of a tripartite cooperation Memorandum of Understanding on digital education between NetDragon, Sarawak-based professional education institution SIIG Communications Sdn Bhd (Formerly Aspire Link Sdn BhD) and the Sarawak State Government of Malaysia in November 2018. This took place during a three-day official visit to Fujian province, where NetDragon is headquartered, by Sarawak Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg aiming to pave the way for greater economic collaboration with the province. The three parties formally agreed to co-operate on the development and improvement of digital education in Sarawak.
The project seeks to provide equal access to digital education regardless of location and current internet availability. It will explore the effectiveness of digital education in equipping students with the required skills and competencies for 21st century society. It also aims to address the imbalance of science and mathematics education in rural schools due to the undersupply of teachers in those subjects, as underlined in the recent quote by Minister Datuk Seri Michael Manyi - "In some places, like in the urban schools, there are more science and mathematics teachers than in the rural school... The target for the whole of Malaysia is 60 per cent (enrolment) for pure science subjects at Form Four level, but as far as Sarawak is concerned, less than 25 per cent of the students are taking pure science subjects."[1]
The project, which brings together an international and local team of experts, supported by SIIG Communications Sdn Bhd, will see 24 secondary schools across most regions in Sarawak engage in a first phase to explore the impact of digitizing classrooms on teaching and learning. Mr. Alvin Tan Beng Huat, COO of SIIG Communications Sdn Bhd says, we have been in close development of this project with the Ministry for a while and look forward to continuing at pace the implementation of Education technology into the state's classrooms.
The first phase will run for 90 days, and on its successful completion NetDragon's Smart Classroom Solution will be expanded to more schools in Sarawak.
The Smart Classroom Solution will bring together the best innovative offerings from NetDragon including: Promethean's world leading ActivPanel for in-class instruction and lesson delivery; Edmodo Classroom the unique and interactive set of teaching tools to facilitate access to educational resources, remote lesson delivery and comprehensive assessment and analytical tools; in-school AiStream Community Hubs to give high-speed, consistent and cost-free access to learning resources without internet access; Lenovo personal learning devices and NetDragon's Mobile Device Management system to ensure the safety and security of devices while providing usage statistics and ease of maintenance of the ActivPanels and personal devices.
Datuk Dr Simon Leung, Vice Chairman of NetDragon, said, "NetDragon is happy to see the start of this innovative digital learning project in Sarawak. 2020 has presented society with some of the most challenging times in living memory during which school-aged learners are significantly impacted. Closing the learning gap and ensuring that all students, wherever they are in the country, get access to quality education has never been more important. We look forward to working with the Sarawak Ministry of Education to achieve this."
About NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited
NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited (HKSE: 0777) is a global leader in building internet communities with a long track record of developing and scaling multiple internet and mobile platforms that impact hundreds of millions of users, including previous establishments of China's first online gaming portal, 17173.com, and China's most influential smartphone app store platform, 91 Wireless.
Established in 1999, NetDragon is one of the most reputable and well-known online game developers in China with a history of successful game titles including Eudemons Online, Heroes Evolved and Conquer Online. In recent years, NetDragon has also started to scale its online education business on the back of management's vision to create the largest global online learning community, and to bring the "classroom of the future" to every school around the world. For more information, please visit www.netdragon.com.
For investor enquiries, please contact:
NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited
Ms. Maggie Zhou
Senior Director of Investor Relations
Tel.: +852 2850 7266 / +86 591 8390 2825
Email: maggiezhou@nd.com.cn
Website: ir.nd.com.cn
[1] "Sarawak Education, Science and Technological Research Ministry seeks RM9m from state govt to train Maths and Science teachers", Malay Mail, 30 September 2020, https://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/sarawak-education-science-technological-research-112612822.html
