Information Technology Assignment, APU, Malaysia The development of technology is moving in tandem with economic development. Digitalization has been first introduced

The development of technology is moving in tandem with economic development. Digitalization has been first introduced since the Evolution of Industry 3.0. In this era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), the rapid pace of this digital revolution crosses the cyber, physical, and biological technological space.

As a result, the digital society is taking advantage of technological advances in all aspects of life. According to the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint, the number of internet users worldwide is estimated to increase to 4.5 billion users in 2020 from 3.4 billion in 2016. Some of the digital transitions related to the community are social, economic, communication, political, governmental, and so on.

In addition, the area that is affected by the development of technology is education. The education system is growing from the pre-independence period, post-independence to this day. Various policies have been formulated to improve and resolve current issues.

The pattern of education in Malaysia is changing from a traditional system to a more modern system. The development of education in terms of technology can be seen from various angles including the establishment of the Bestari School. Globally, there have been many countries that plan to innovate their education systems. Malaysia was one of the earliest countries to introduce the concept of smart school. The Malaysian government proposed this plan in 1997 which was first implemented in 1999 and is known as Sekolah Bestari.

According to Khairul Azrin(2011), the Bestari School is a school established with advanced technology and has a modified curriculum to be in line with the developments in the science and technology era. In particular, the objective of Sekolah Bestari is to produce students who are smart and good at using the latest technology in their learning activities. Next, Malaysia will become a world-class center of educational excellence.

The government aims to implement school conservation in all schools in Malaysia by 2020. A total of 88 schools were chosen to be a benchmark for schools in Malaysia and in the eyes of the world. According to the attachment to the Implementation Status of the School Preservation Program, the concept of the Bestari School generally emphasizes the development of technology in the implementation of teaching and learning such as the use of the internet and advanced equipment.

This can also be seen in the Malaysian Education Development Plan (2013-2025) which is entering the final phase (2021-2025). This phase generally targets related matters, internet connectivity for all schools, video conferencing facilities in each district to support distance learning, and complete sports facilities for each district. Changes in the design of the school in the future will depend on the change in curriculum.

Overall, the provision of facilities in the school preservation program and the Malaysian Education Development Plan (2013-2025) in most places is focused on the construction of learning syllabi, concepts, administration, and equipment.

In the situation that is sweeping the world today, digital learning and using technology are gaining more attention. According to a newspaper excerpt from Sinar Harian dated 16 May 2021, teachers improved their digital skills during the Movement Control Order (MCO) from MCO 1.0 to MCO 3.0 following the instructions of the Ministry of Education Malaysia to conduct home teaching and learning sessions. According to the newspaper clipping, digitalization in education is indeed the policy of MOE and the process is inevitable to produce digitally skilled students.

Apart from the digitalization of teaching and learning sessions, school preservation is also necessary for the application of a smart society which is a state-of-the-art educational institution environment so that students can experience the digital world as a whole.

An example that occurs in a digital environment is electronic or e-payment payments. According to the Berita Harian Online report dated 20 December 2020, the survey found that the number of e-wallet users in Malaysia increased to 52.9 percent of respondents in October 2020 compared with 24.3 percent in February 2020. According to Morgan’s (2019) projections, the Malaysian e-commerce market is seen to be gaining strength and is estimated to be able to achieve growth of 24% per annum (Morgan, 2019). Meanwhile, the market for e-wallets alone is expected to grow to RM87 billion by 2024.

Bank Negara Malaysia has also taken various steps in improving the e-payment platform, thus moving the country toward a cashless society. The percentage of cheque usage is seen to decrease and the percentage of online transactions increases.

Looking at this situation, the Ministry of Education Malaysia responded to Bank Negara Malaysia’s call to inculcate a cashless society in Malaysia. The start of a pilot program for the use of debit cards with 10 Boarding Schools (SBP) in Peninsular Malaysia from March to December 2018 was carried out. The objective of the program is specifically to encourage the use of debit cards among students, teachers, and parents as a means of payment transactions such as in canteens or school cooperatives as opposed to the use of cash.

In a newspaper clipping of Sinar Harian dated 28 March 2019, the Ministry of Education (MOE) plans to expand the cashless school program. The Minister of Education at that time took the example of the implementation of a cashless program in a national school. MOE intends to work with Bank Simpanan Nasional to carry out pilot projects related to this program. Various benefits are seen to be derived from the use of this e-payment technology.

In conclusion, the e-payment technology in this school is still in the early stages of implementation. Therefore, it is natural that analysis and improvement of the existing system are carried out so that an efficient and safe e-payment model can be developed.

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