THE Penang government will continue to prepare young minds for the future by supporting coding classes through Penang Science Cluster (PSC) for all 250,000 primary and secondary students in the state.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said PSC would be able to reach out to 100,000 students this year after having started the ‘Coding for All’ initiative last year.
“In the face of rapid technological changes, we need to prepare all the students to face the challenges and it is our responsibility to do so as the government,” Chow said in his speech before presenting prizes to the winners of the inaugural Penang State Coding Competition for Primary and Secondary Schools at Wisma Yeap Chor Ee today.
“I announced Penang2030 vision last year and this is the vision not for myself but all for all the people in Penang. Hopefully, when you complete your tertiary education and enter into the job market as young men and women, you will one day be very successful and to help Penang to progress.”
When the state government launched the ‘Coding for All’ initiative last year, it committed to spend a total of RM6 million over the next three years (RM2 million per year) through PSC to enable the young develop coding skills. Penang is the only state in Malaysia doing this.
Chow said he was proud that Penang once again was leading in the country by organising the first such coding competition for primary and secondary schools.
He also thanked the schoolteachers and various industry partners for working together with PSC in the programme.
“It’s quite an experience for me, someone who is over 60 years old, to come and see the children working on magic in the coding competition for the schoolchildren.
“In the past, we could only buy gadgets and play games. But now you can invent and create the game yourself.
“Through this team effort, I hope that you also learn from your partners. How to encourage each other, promote team spirit and creativity.
“I hope this competition will inspire many other students to explore more about coding. Who knows one day, you will achieve success in this ICT field?”
This year, primary school students from 50 schools took part in the Mini Scratch Competition and seven groups of secondary students took part in the Python Game Jam Competition.
Also present at the event were PSC chief executive officer Ooi Peng Ee, representatives from the state Education Department, some of the participants’ parents and schoolteachers.
Ooi said it was important for the students to learn about coding as all jobs would involve computing.
“Singapore will be introducing coding to all the schools next year. But Penang has already started it last year and we are two years ahead of them,” he said.
“What we are doing is that we train the teachers and provide the schools with the hardware for the students to learn about coding. Our goal is to give all students the chance to code.”
Ooi said they could reach 100,000 students this year through the coding programme although they targeted 80,000. When they began it last year, he said they had taught 60,000 students.
The programme is for students from Year Four till Form Five now, but Ooi said they were ready to start from Year 3 if the curriculum is set by the Education Ministry.
He said PSC also has four vans, equipped with 40 laptops each, to go to schools and conduct the coding programme, known as ‘Code on Wheels’, daily.
In the Mini Scratch Competition, SJK (C) Sin Ya emerged the winner, followed by SJK (C) Shih Chung Branch and SJK (C) Union, while in the Python Game Jam Competition, the winners were EZFORQZE (Best code quality), Schwarzchild (Most Interesting Concept), Arus (Best design) and ChanSis (Best Overall Game).
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Alissala Thian
Video by Chan Kok Kuan
