SMK Dato’ Ahmad Maher, a Kelantan High School received sponsorship from Epson to Enhance Learning Experience

Continuing its effort to provide technological solutions for local education, Epson Malaysia has sponsored projectors and printers to SMK Dato’ Ahmad Maher (SMKDAM), a local secondary school in Kota Bharu, Kelantan . These products include Epson’s EB-695Wi interactive projector, the EB-1785W Mobile Projector, and the award-winning L3150 EcoTank Printer.

According to shift 7 under the Malaysian Education Blueprint (2013 – 2025), Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is crucial to scale up the quality learning across Malaysia. Despite the ministry’s capital-intensive investment in building more smart schools, the ICT usage in schools continues to lag expectations both in terms of quality and quantity. In view of that, the involvement of private companies in building a smarter nation could introduce many opportunities for more developed schools.

The initiative was driven by Epson’s Management Philosophy which includes key corporate social responsibility theme, a materiality matrix that identifies important initiatives to resolve social issues. One of the issues identified was the lack of adequate, technologically advanced teaching equipment in smaller, local schools.

Daisuke Hori, Managing Director, Epson Malaysia, said: “The spirit of giving is embedded in the heart of Epson. As the market leader in printers and projectors technology, we truly believe in the transformative power of innovation. We believe that technology plays an important role in education because it is a tool that can help engage with students. When students are engaged, their learning becomes more effective and they tend to be more creative and innovative. These are factors that are critical for them to be successful in the long run.”

Activating a visual experience for science classes

Established in 1985, SMK Dato’ Ahmad Maher was formerly known as SMK Jalan Bayam. Widely recognised as the Cluster School of Excellence (Sekolah Kluster Kecemerlangan), the management has worked hard to retain the education quality of the school by offering convenience and technology accessibility in class. However, due to the limited funding, this was an extremely difficult task to achieve. As such, the school reached out to Epson Malaysia for assistance.

“We are extremely grateful that our request for assistance have gained attention from private companies, such as Epson. As a result of this meaningful sponsorship, we are able to integrate more creative visual presentation in classes – especially for subjects such as biology, chemistry and physics – making it more interesting and interactive. This is in line with Malaysia’s education system as we aim to create a fun, joyful learning experience for students through use of innovative solutions,” said Mr Mohd Zamri bin Abdul Aziz, Principal of SMK Dato’ Ahmad Maher.

The sponsorship handover ceremony was also attended by Mr. Mohd Hassany B. Hashim, Head of the Academic Management Sector, Kelantan State Education Department. For more information on Epson Malaysia and its range of products, kindly visit the website at https://www.epson.com.my/.