This is new technology that I have just learned, so please bear with me. As with all other recent national projects, the government expects the private sector to play a big role. Companies have been invited to prepare proposals for everything from teaching and learning materials to teacher-training methods to copyright and funding plans. Short-listed companies will then be asked to work within a consortium, and the contracts will be awarded in July of next year. So far, big names like Fujitsu Ltd. and Intel Corp. have indicated their interest in bidding.
Smart schools are only one part of the shift in Malaysian education.
The Education Ministry recently handed out new licenses for private universities and upgraded some existing colleges to university status to churn out more technology graduates. Still, what kids need first is a solid basic education. USM is widely regarded as having the nation's best computer-science faculty. Mr. Zaharin declines to furnish anecdotes. But today's strong demand for technology graduates seems to indicate that the future demand for such graduates will rise even faster once the super corridor takes shape.