Smart card now offers schools a hotline to EMB

A new smart card system that helps schools communicate with parents and students via the internet can now also cut bureaucracy by letting them file information to the Education and Manpower Bureau (EMB) directly.

The MyIT-School smart card system, in use at more than 100 schools, has been updated to synchronise with the EMB's Web School Administration Management System implemented earlier this year.

The smart card, introduced two years ago, has so far been used by students and teachers to access the school's intranet system for such tasks as updating academic results, taking class registers, making payments and using the online school library.

It can now also provide a new short-messaging function for schools to send text messages to parents. The system costs about $10,000 to install, with smart cards costing about $30. 'The system will enable schools to connect with their students through the intranet more efficiently,' said Jacky Chiu Ka-lok, chief executive officer of TIM EDPlatform, which developed it. 'This means less workload, and more time for teaching and learning.'