Tag - edu-tourism

KOTA BELUD: SK Sayap Kota Belud is the first rural primary school in Malaysia to implement an education-based tourism programme. SK Sayap which is located 20km from Pekan Kota Belud and situated at a panoramic view of Mount Kinabalu intends to be the hub and pioneer of Edu-Tourism School in Kadamaian as well as in the nation. Programme coordinator, Boniface Jiran said the school’s Edu-Tourism Kampung Sayap is among the tourism products under the Kampung Sayap Tourism Village Committee which was supported by the school’s Parents and Teacher Association (PIBG) and Kadamaian assemblyman Ewon Benedick. “Besides the school’s beautiful view of Mount Kinabalu, there are also six education huts where each of the huts has their own unique landscape and there is one upside down hut which features Kadazandusun culture,” he said, adding that since its inception, it has attracted thousands of visitors and tourists. “For the Kampung Sayap community, SK Sayap edu-tourism through FGHT (Focus Group Hiking Team) has helped a lot especially in developing its own tourism products and packages as well as providing guidance to tour operators to promote their tourism product. “As a result, Kg Sayap Tourism or better known as Kg Sayap Eco-edu Tourism has grown to the extent of successfully developing almost 38 tourism products comprising services, accommodation, retail, hill-mountain hiking, cave, waterfall, Rafflesia flowers, food, historical sites, and culture and arts,” he added. He also applauded the State Ministry of Rural Development (KPLB) for bringing in the Rural Tourism Mini Estet Sejahtera (MESEJ) programme and believed that Edu-Tourism in SK Sayap can be developed. He also stated that the village will also be getting benefits through the positive development of rural tourism industry such as upgrading and building the village roads. “Besides that, this would also help boost the students’ academic achievement through the implementation of the Edu-Tourism programme. “We are proud that our students can now read, write, and calculate well after the implementation of the programme. This is because with various visitors from foreign countries such as Japan and England, it has motivated the students to be more confident in speaking English. The motivation to boost their confidence in speaking English is due to visits from tourists from foreign countries such as Japan and England. Meanwhile, SK Sayap teacher Kingfier Missin expressed his gratitude to Ewon Benedick, who is also the Minister of Rural Development Sabah for donating a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and a projector to the school as well as RM5,000 cash as a touch point for developing SK Sayap tourism industry. He explained that the LCD and projector would surely be useful for the 150 students of SK Sayap in their study session. Speaking at the SK Sayap Kaamatan and Hari Raya celebration, Ewon hoped that the SK Sayap Edu-Tourism programme can be an example to other schools in the state. “This will be another attraction for Kampung Sayap which is already known as a tourist destination with natural beauties such as the mountain forests and rivers in Kota Belud,” he said. Source: New Sabah Times

KOTA KINABALU: The state Rural Development Ministry plans to further develop rural tourism through the Mini Estet Sejahtera (Mesej) project, starting with Kadamaian, located in the Kota Belud district. Minister Ewon Benedick who is Kadamaian assemblyman, said Kampung Sayap would be pioneering the pilot programme, starting with SK Sayap through its edu-tourism programme in welcoming visitors including international tourists. “The school initiative would enhance the knowledge of students in tourism industry and generates fund for the school. “I had launched the edu-tourism programme at SK Sayap in 2016 before becoming an assemblyman. “The school has an upside-down hut as an attraction in its edu-tourism park. I hope more schools would emulate such ideas and find activities to generate economic returns for the school fund. “Today, Kampung Sayap being identified as the pilot group for the rural tourism Mesej is another example of my commitment to continue supporting them,” he said after receiving a courtesy call from the SK Sayap Edu-Tourism main committee and the village tourism main committee at his ministry’s office here. He said the new programme would be conducted in collaboration with Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry through Sabah Tourism Board. Meanwhile the school’s edu-tourism coordinator Boniface Jiran said they welcomed such efforts to incorporate the new Mesej concept in the village, which would in turn bring positive impacts to Kampung Sayap, such as improvement of road links there. “The edu-tourism approach also helped improved the students’ academic performances, where they all have achieved the basic ability for reading, writing, counting and reasoning. “At the same time, it also increased their confidence as they could communicate in English with foreign tourists as we had visitors from Japan and England coming to the school,” he added. Source: New Straits Times