Sepang, 16th June 2015 – Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd (ERL) together with its subsidiary, ERL Maintenance Support Sdn Bhd (E-MAS) collaborated with YTL Foundation on a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme called the Frog Classroom Makeover Project. A classroom in Sekolah Kebangsaan Kota Warisan, Sepang was selected to receive a makeover transformation and was also equipped with facilities to make the best use of the Frog Virtual Learning Environment (Frog VLE) provided by the Ministry of Education under the 1BestariNet project.

The unveiling of the Frog Classroom was officiated by the Deputy Minister of Education II, YB P. Kamalanathan. Also present at the unveiling ceremony were Chief Executive Officer of ERL, Noormah Mohd Noor and Programme Director of YTL Foundation, YBhg. Datin Kathleen Chew.

In his speech, YB P. Kamalanathan said, “I believe that having a Frog Classroom in each school will help address many challenges that the education system is currently experiencing. In today’s day and age, the conventional way of teaching needs to evolve with the times. Teachers need to be more creative in teaching. A different approach to teaching, devising exciting lesson plans as well as developing new teaching techniques must be applied to inspire the students. In order for that to happen, our schools need to be better equipped with good infrastructure such as better classrooms, teaching equipment and access to high speed Internet.”

YB P. Kamalanathan was also encouraged that more corporate organisations such as ERL and E-MAS were involved in the betterment of the education in the country. He hoped to see more participation from the corporate sector in the Frog Classroom Makeover Project so that more schools, especially in the rural areas, would have the opportunity to experience a Frog Classroom and fully utilise the benefit of the Frog VLE in a more conducive learning environment.

Meanwhile, Noormah in her speech said, “We are very excited to be involved in this project as we believe that this classroom makeover would be a catalyst in inspiring students to open their minds. This unique classroom would provide a fun and interactive learning environment for both teachers and students.”

“I am also proud of the spirit of volunteerism our staff have displayed and hope that the teachers and students of SK Kota Warisan will like the results of the volunteers’ hard work in the Frog Classroom.”

A total of 28 staff from ERL and E-MAS volunteered for this makeover project. The volunteers were responsible for clearing and cleaning the classroom, wiring, painting, installation of desks and chairs as well as artwork doodling and decorating the Frog Classroom. Renovation work began on 30th May and was completed on 7th June 2015.

The ERL & E-MAS Frog Classroom Makeover Project at SK Kota Warisan was also assisted by the Public Relations students from the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, UiTM. The students were involved in the documentation of the makeover process and publicising the Frog Classroom on various social media platforms. The UiTM students will also conduct a mentor-mentee programme with the students over the next six months to help them study and learn better with the use of Internet.

Referring to YTL Foundation’s role, YBhg. Datin Kathleen said, “YTL Foundation targets to complete the makeover of 12 Frog Classrooms this year. We hope that more corporate organisations as well as Parent Teacher Associations (PIBGs) will take up this challenge so that schools all over the country will benefit from this programme. YTL Foundation will provide a toolkit to help plan and implement the projects as well as sponsor the tables and chairs for the classroom if any organisation or PIBG is interested in participating in the Frog Classroom project.”

YBhg. Datin Kathleen added that, YTL Foundation also worked together with YTL Communications Sdn Bhd (YTL Communications) on another classroom makeover project. On 15th June, they unveiled another completed Frog Classroom at SMK Tanjung Sepat, a low-performing secondary school located in the coastal fishing town in Selangor. Most of the students come from low-income families where their parents work as farmers or fishermen. The 26 volunteers from YTL Communications completed the makeover project in eight days, the quickest transformation so far under the Frog Classroom Makeover Programme.