Was 1BestariNet Ham-stringed?

 Any good platform could be ham-stringed by poor promotion and usage.  That’s the story by the Auditor-General (“A-G”) on 1BestariNet.

The audit report states that YTL Communications was not responsible for promoting the usage and adoption of the Frog VLE under the 1BestariNet project. The latest audit scrutinised the performance and management of Phase 2 of the 1BestariNet project.  The contract to provide the platform was awarded to YTL Communications for a period of three years –July 2016 to June 2019.

Unicliq Sdn Bhd (“Unicliq”) a third-party contractor was awarded the role called “change management”. Unicliq had 16 months to perform (Sept 17 to Dec 2018). Briefings, incentive scheme were ideas to encourage adoption of the Frog VLE among pupils. The 30% activation target was not achieved. On 19 April 2019, the MOE acknowledged that Unicliq failed to achieve the target. The audit noted that contents of the change management were insignificant for optimal use of the Frog VLE.

What are some possible lessons?

·     MOE made an investment of RM633 million (over 3 years for Phase 1) and paid Unicliq another RM8.2 million for making use of a platform that was not mandatory for teachers and pupils alike;

·       MOE needs to set clear policies for use of platforms in schools as mentioned by the A-G;

·       MOE complains of low usage when promotion and adoption were given to a third-party with perhaps little or no skills in meeting a set target. In a BCG report in 2010, it was pointed out that it typically takes 10-15 years for a school system to get a good level of usage. And the project was thus scoped for 15 years;

·       “Basikal or Shinkazen” depends on what you set-out in your terms of reference. You cannot set-out to buy a bicycle and expect delivery of a high-speed train;

·      “contracts are contracts” – it is pointless to negotiate and sign a contract and then scream that it was not fair – that goes for either party;

·       Recovery and resuscitating an existing platform is better than starting from scratch – unless there was no delivery in the first place (which was not true for 1BestariNet!);

·       Utilisation (or promotion) of the platform should be with the provider (of the platform) who has the skill sets and knowledge to do so; and

·       MOE could have had forums, annual feedback sessions and designated “champions” to get activation up, and that may not need a third-party!

Where do we go from here?

As usual in Malaysia, no heads will roll for RM633 million (Phase 1) spent and project abandoned. We are compassionate people.

Unless we promote a culture of merit and accountability, no amount of money or platforms will solve the education malaise. My humble suggestion is to get Rafidah Aziz to head MOE and we will have a future!

References:
1. Low adoption of Frog Virtual Learning due to lack of promotion, The Star, 18 July 2019

2. MoE should have promoted 1BestariNet better, TheEdge Markets, 17 July 2019