In the light of the PerantiSiswa Keluarga Malaysia application opening this week, a report came out that students who are given the tablet will have to return them to their respective institute of higher learning.
Communications and Multimedia Minister (MenKOMM) Tan Sri Annuar Musa said that students can begin applying for the PerantiSiswa tablets on campus or at home on 15 April.
Those who are studying from home must register with their university and get a matrix number to apply.
He added that the devices will be distributed in two batches, those who are approved will get them in June and those who didn’t can still appeal and get them within 60 after the first batch.
What was surprising to most people is that students will have to return these tablets when they have finished their studies.
The thing is, from what we know of the tablet, they are not that great anyway.
Here’s the deal
With a budget of only RM750 to RM800 and the minimum specifications that the government has given, we speculate that these tablets are like low range smartphones with a large display.
There’s a good reason why Android tablets are not productivity workhorses and why people still use laptops. Even if it is powerful enough – since we do not know the chipset these tablets are built on – most android apps are not optimised for tablets.
We expect most of the students would use the tablet like a Chromebook and depend heavily on the browser and internet connection.
A Chromebook may have been a better solution for the PerantiSiswa program in the first place.
In the end, having to return the tablet should not be a big deal. Except maybe for logistics, getting back the tablets from the students who are studying at home.
Is It Future proof?
The new devices that the students receive in June may be underpowered with no security and OS upgrade roadmap. So not only is the hardware outdated, the software could be too by the time the current batch of students is done with it.
Even if they are returned, we can’t imagine that it would be a practical device for the next batch of students anyway. So what will the government do with them?
We’ve written a little summary of what the Pakej PerantiSiswa Keluarga Malaysia is and what we know about the tablet here:
READ MORE: That Cheap Looking PerantiSiswa Tablet Situation Explained