uniCLIQ LAUNCHES INNOVATIVE E-LEARNING PORTAL

Tool aimed at helping bridge rural-urban education performance gap

KUALA LUMPUR, 2 April 2012 – A virtual learning product that seeks to complement conventional learning in schools was launched by a pioneer e-learning service provider in the country, uniCLIQ Sdn Bhd here on Sunday.

The uniCLIQ e-learning system is specially designed for pre-school, primary and secondary students, enabling them to carry out self-learning and self-assessment on various subjects at their own pace, time and convenience.From left: En Apandi Dollah, CEO, uniCLIQ; Prof Dato' Dr Ab Rahim Selamat, Advisor, uniCLIQ; En Analiz Alias, COO, uniCLIQ; and uniCLIQ Brand Ambassador Najwa Latif at the official launch of uniCLIQ e-learning portal in Kuala Lumpur Sunday.

Dubbed “An after school portal”, uniCLIQ is created for all students to learn and study online after school hours all year through. Endorsed by the Ministry of Education Malaysia, the interactive multimedia courseware contents are developed based on the Ministry’s National Curriculum and can be viewed and accessed anytime, anywhere via the Internet at www.uniCLIQ.com.

uniCLIQ Chief Executive Officer En Apandi Dollah said: “What makes uniCLIQ different from the other e-learning products in the market is our focus on learning for the sake of knowledge, rather than for scoring in exams. With proper learning and understanding of the subject matter through uniCLIQ’s specially-designed modules that suit various levels of education, excellent academic achievements will come naturally. We have been in the education business for 13 years and our proven track record speaks volumes of our products and service quality.”
uniCLIQ Brand Ambassador, popular teen artiste Najwa Latif.

uniCLIQ was formerly known as Telekom Smart School Sdn Bhd (TSS) and used to be part of the TM Group until it was taken private by Apandi in August 2011. The company has been in the online education business since 1999.

Apandi expressed hope for the uniCLIQ portal to be able to play a meaningful role in the Rural Education Transformation Plan as announced by the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin recently.

The Rural Education Transformation Plan would focus on rural secondary schools and look into the aspects of teaching manpower, infrastructure, quality of education, financial allocation and the role of parents. Tan Sri Muhyiddin who is also Education Minister has set a target of bridging the gap between urban and rural schools within the next 10 years.

Apandi added: “uniCLIQ would like to contribute positively towards the Rural Education Transformation Plan as announced by Tan Sri Muhyiddin. With the uniCLIQ portal, we seek to help realise the Government’s aspiration to improve the academic performance of rural students which has generally been lower as compared to their urban counterparts. With our specially-priced and interactively designed modules, uniCLIQ will appeal to both rural and urban students.”

Online modules for primary and secondary students are available from as low as RM20 per subject per month. uniCLIQ offers e-learning for core subjects such as Bahasa Malaysia, English, Mathematics and Science, while elective subjects include Additional Mathematics, Biology, Visual Art and Islamic studies. The modules are also available at discounted rates for 3-month and 6-month packages that enable uniCLIC subscribers to enjoy greater savings.

In ensuring the quality, relevance and currency of its contents and syllabus, uniCLIQ has appointed the 2011 Tokoh Guru Kebangsaan Prof. Dato’ Dr Ab Rahim Selamat as its Advisor. He is one of the seven members appointed by the Ministry of Education to the Independent Panel to review the country’s education system, along with Tan Sri Tony Fernandes of AirAsia and Khazanah Nasional Managing Director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar, among others. He has also provided educational consultancy services both in Malaysia and internationally including for countries like Palestine, the Maldives, the UAE, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Prof. Dato’ Dr Ab Rahim was instrumental in the planning, establishing and managing of local tertiary institutions including the Sultan Idris Education University (UPSI) and the Kuala Lumpur University (UniKL), apart from being the first Dean of the Faculty of Education at Universiti Selangor (Unisel). The former Director of Institut Aminuddin Baki (IAB) has written more than 20 books on Smart School, learning skills, teaching system and management of training.

Meanwhile, to further promote uniCLIQ to the market and enhance its appeal to the young audience, uniCLIQ has appointed teen YouTube sensation Najwa Latif as its brand ambassador.

Commenting on Najwa’s involvement in uniCLIQ, Apandi said: “Najwa Latif is a perfect fit for uniCLIQ as she is an icon to the younger generation with a huge online presence and following. She was selected as uniCLIQ’s brand ambassador due to her excellent performance both in school and in the music industry. Najwa has a very good personality and is a perfect role model for kids.”

As its brand ambassador, Najwa has re-recorded two of her songs that will be the theme music for the uniCLIQ portal. Apart from featuring Najwa’s images and music, the portal will also host a blog spot for the petit singer.

Apandi is upbeat on uniCLIQ’s business prospects, setting a target of at least 50,000 subscribers in the next 12 months.

“uniCLIQ is available at a very competitive pricing package that is both value-for-money and unbeatable. Naturally we are targeting the parents as they are the ones who decide for their children’s education. We have made the product highly affordable especially for the rural community as well as urban students. With high level of awareness among parents on the importance of learning and academic excellence, we are confident that uniCLIQ will be a must-have for the majority of school-going students in the country. Generally we believe all of them should have access to our learning contents in uniCLIQ,” he added.

uniCLIQ will be promoted throughout the country via various advertising and promotional channels including electronic and print media, and roadshows to key target areas. In the long term, uniCLIQ intends to be an aggregator of educational e-learning content of all subjects suitable for schools, colleges or even life-long learning for adults. The company is also looking at forging partnerships and alliances to widen its market reach.