KUALA LUMPUR, Seven primary schools in Johor were recognised as champions in eight top categories during the annual Iskandar Malaysia Ecolife Challenge (IMELC) 2023 with SK Taman Suria in Johor Bahru crowned as overall champion in the ‘Best School Category’.
The school also secured an award in the ‘Used Cooking Oil Category,’ having collected 3,579.85kg of cooking oil during the challenge which was organised to promote awareness and education on low carbon practices among primary schoolchildren statewide.
‘The ‘Water Savings Category’ was awarded to SJKC Pei Chih from Ulu Tiram, while SJKC Foon Yew 1, Johor Bahru claimed the top spot in the ‘Energy Savings Category’ for their commendable efforts in conserving water and electricity,’ Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) said in a statement today.
Meanwhile, student Nurul Iman Rahmat from SK Kulai emerged as the winner in the ‘Student and Family Category’ which garnered support from 10 partners representing the government, private sectors, and a foundation.
A total of 58 awards were presented with the eight top awards handed over by Johor State Education, Information and Communication Committee chairman Norlizah Noh during the first day of Iskandar Puteri Low Carbon carnival recently.
Menwhile, IRDA chief executive Datuk Dr Badrul Hisham Kassim said members of the community play a key role in maintaining a ‘green’ future and their interest and participation in the effort should start when they are still young to develop them into environmental champions.
‘This is no easy feat and IMELC has successfully attracted and educated a growing number of school children primarily due to the attention and support the programme has received from various partners throughout the past 10 years,’ he said.
For IMELC 2023, the statutory body IRDA, Johor State Education Department and University of Technology Malaysia act as the implementation agencies, while Iskandar Puteri City Council, SWM Environment Sdn Bhd, Ranhill SAJ Sdn Bhd and Sunway Iskandar Sdn Bhd as the main partners.
IMELC, which originated as a pilot project in 2013 with just 23 schools, has, to date, engaged 100,000 pupils from 900 primary schools across Johor in the programme.
The COVID-19 pandemic prompted IMELC to transition to a more digital-based approach for both data collection and engagement activities.
By the end of 2020, IRDA, with funding from the United Nations Development Programme, digitised the IMELC modules through a website, incorporating gamification elements.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency