KUCHING: A total of 80 SeDidik kindergartens across Sarawak have rolled out digital learning through the Kids Bits and Bytes programme, giving young children early exposure to basic coding skills.
Minister for Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah, said the pilot project, introduced last year in collaboration with the Rolf Schnyder Welfare Association, has shown encouraging results.
“Children as young as four years old are now able to grasp coding fundamentals through fun and age-appropriate methods.
“The pilot results revealed that 80 per cent of participating children successfully mastered the skills taught. I was impressed because coding is not easy, yet the approach used makes it engaging for them,” she told reporters after visiting the SeDidik Centre of Excellence (SCoE) at Jalan Kulas here on Wednesday.
According to Fatimah, each group of three children shares a tablet equipped with applications containing exercises ranging from simple to more complex coding tasks.
She said that completing this task indicates that the children have successfully acquired basic coding knowledge.
She said that the next step is to introduce Artificial Intelligence (AI) learning through a special module currently being discussed with the association.
“We hope they will continue to support this programme as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) to benefit children in Sarawak,” she added.
Fatimah also noted that the initiative was inspired by the founder of the Rolf Schnyder Welfare Association, a Sarawak-born individual now based in the United States, who wanted to contribute back to the state of his birth.
Beyond coding and AI, Fatimah said photography has also been identified as another potential area of creative learning.
“Children often enjoy being photographed, but some also show interest in being behind the camera.
“From that curiosity, we can nurture their creativity,” she said.
