Chinese SOE overseas projects contribute to local education

CGN helps online teaching come true in remote area of Malaysia

Impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, Kampung Sawah National Primary School of Negeri Sembilan in Malaysia decided to launch an online teaching project. However, students gradually lagged behind the study schedule and some of them even dropped out of school. The reasons lay in a lack of hardware equipment and teachers and parents' inadequate experience in using software for online courses.

Edra Power Holdings Sdn Bhd (Edra), a subsidiary of China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN), provided funds and devices to help overcome the difficulties.

The assistance was a part of the Edra Sokongan Didikan project, a student assistance program. According to the company, most of its power plants are located in the third and fourth tier cities and remote areas of the country where people have relatively low income and limited investment in education. Some students have to drop out of school due to their economic situation.

The company donates 3,000 to 6,000 Malaysian ringgit ($709 to $1,418) to neighboring primary schools every year before the year-end holiday to improve infrastructure. In addition, each Grade Five student gets a new schoolbag and a shopping voucher worth 120 ringgit for buying shoes.

The company said it hoped that the help can relieve local families' burden and encourage students to study hard.

Edra also established scholarships in some universities to support outstanding students of poverty-stricken families. The company gives priority to scholarship winners when it recruits employees, and so far has employed dozens of scholarship winners.

CGN started to develop in the Malaysian energy market in 2015 and has carried out a number of projects, which included the 50,000-kilowatt solar power project in Negeri Kedah.

Students at a primary school of State of Malacca in Malaysia receive schoolbags offered by CGN. [Photo/CGN]