Concept RFP For Smart School Management System

Concept RFP For Smart
School Management
System
Wednesday, July 23, 1997

Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
Copyright © 1997 Government of Malaysia.
In the event that there exists any discrepancy between an electronic version of this document (or a
document printed or distributed using an electronic version as a source) and the official printed
hardcopy distributed by the Government (See Section 1.4.4 Obtaining a Printed Copy of The
CRFPs and Related Documents), or officially distributed addenda or corrections, then the
information in the official printed hardcopy, addenda or corrections shall prevail.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
Concept Request For Proposal (CRFP) For Smart School Management System (SSMS).................. 1
1 Overview of the MSC and the Smart School Project................................................................ 1
1.1 MSC Flagship Applications ............................................................................................... 1
1.2 Smart School Project Objectives and Approach ............................................................... 2
1.3 The Smart School Pilot Effort............................................................................................. 2
1.3.1 Objectives........................................................................................................................... 2
1.3.2 Background information of pilots .................................................................................... 3
1.3.3 Scope of the Pilot Projects ................................................................................................. 3
1.4 Concept Requests for Proposals ........................................................................................ 3
1.4.1 Overview............................................................................................................................ 3
1.4.2 Documents to be read with this CRFP ............................................................................. 4
1.4.3 The Smart School CRFPs................................................................................................... 4
1.4.4 Obtaining a Printed Copy of The CRFPs and Related Documents ................................ 5
1.4.5 CRFP Process and Timeline .............................................................................................. 6
First stage: Individual Proposal Development..................................................................... 6
Second Stage: Total Integrated Solution Development ....................................................... 6
Abbreviated Timeline ............................................................................................................ 7
2 Introduction to the Smart School Management System (SSMS) CRFP................................... 8
2.1 Background......................................................................................................................... 8
2.2 Objective.............................................................................................................................. 9
2.3 The Roles of the Smart School Management System (SSMS) .........................................10
2.4 Functions of the SSMS.......................................................................................................11
3 Functional Requirements..........................................................................................................12
3.1 School Governance............................................................................................................12
3.2 Student Affairs Management............................................................................................13
3.3 Educational Resources Management ...............................................................................14
3.4 External Resources Management .....................................................................................15
3.5 Financial Management......................................................................................................16
3.6 Facilities Management ......................................................................................................17
3.7 Human Resources Management.......................................................................................17
3.8 Security Management........................................................................................................18
3.9 Technology Management..................................................................................................19
3.10 Hostel Management ..........................................................................................................19
3.11 Summary of communications requirements....................................................................19
4 Technical Requirements............................................................................................................22
4.1 Application Architecture ..................................................................................................22
4.2 Application Framework....................................................................................................23
4.3 Standards Compliance ......................................................................................................25
4.4 Integration Requirements .................................................................................................26
4.5 Security Considerations ....................................................................................................26
4.6 Platform Support...............................................................................................................27
4.7 System Sizing and Capacity Planning..............................................................................27
4.8 Multiple Language Support..............................................................................................28
4.9 Risk Assessment Statement ..............................................................................................28
4.10 Technical Service Level .....................................................................................................29
5 Implementation Requirements.................................................................................................30
5.1 Project Management Methodology ..................................................................................30
5.2 Project Team Structure......................................................................................................30
5.3 Risk Management Plan .....................................................................................................31
5.4 Quality Management.........................................................................................................31
5.5 Change Management Plan................................................................................................31
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
5.6 Training Plan .....................................................................................................................31
5.7 Acceptance Testing Plan ...................................................................................................31
5.8 Technology Transfer Plan .................................................................................................31
5.9 Implementation Strategies ................................................................................................32
6 Training Programs ....................................................................................................................33
6.1 Overview............................................................................................................................33
6.2 Training strategy ...............................................................................................................33
6.3 Training Facilities ..............................................................................................................33
6.4 Training schedule ..............................................................................................................34
6.5 Training venue...................................................................................................................34
6.6 Training Modules ..............................................................................................................34
6.6.1 Training Design ................................................................................................................34
6.6.2 Resources and References ................................................................................................34
6.6.3 Time of Delivery...............................................................................................................34
6.6.4 Training Curriculum ........................................................................................................34
6.6.5 Format of Training Modules............................................................................................34
6.7 Monitoring and Evaluation...............................................................................................35
6.8 Follow –up programme ....................................................................................................35
7 Maintenance and Support Services..........................................................................................36
7.1 Overview............................................................................................................................36
7.2 Organisational ...................................................................................................................36
7.3 Coverage ............................................................................................................................37
7.4 Services...............................................................................................................................37
7.4.1 Remedial Maintenance Service........................................................................................37
7.4.2 Preventive Maintenance Service......................................................................................37
7.4.3 Solution Support and Maintenance.................................................................................37
7.4.4 Miscellaneous ...................................................................................................................38
8 Performance Requirements ......................................................................................................39
9 External Linkages......................................................................................................................40
9.1 External Databases ............................................................................................................40
10 Financial Requirements ........................................................................................................41
10.1 Business Model Requirements..........................................................................................41
10.2 Business Model..................................................................................................................41
10.2.1 Government ....................................................................................................................41
10.2.2 Responding Organisation ..............................................................................................42
10.2.3 Users................................................................................................................................42
Financial modelling assumptions ........................................................................................43
10.2.4 Quantities required.........................................................................................................43
10.2.5 Financial constraints.......................................................................................................43
11 Capabilities of the Responding Organisation......................................................................44
11.1 Project Management Capabilities.....................................................................................44
11.1.1 Project Management Methodology ...............................................................................44
11.1.2 Project Management Experience ...................................................................................44
11.2 Training Capabilities.........................................................................................................44
11.3 Support Capabilities..........................................................................................................44
11.4 Financial Capabilities ........................................................................................................44
11.5 Technical Capabilities .......................................................................................................45
11.5.1 Technical leadership.......................................................................................................45
11.5.2 Relevant reference sites..................................................................................................45
11.5.3 Other unique capabilities as applicable ........................................................................45
12 Instructions to Responding Organisations ..........................................................................46
12.1 Communication .................................................................................................................46
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
12.1.1 Responding Organisations’ Briefing .............................................................................46
12.2 Submission of Proposal.....................................................................................................46
12.2.1 Time and Date.................................................................................................................46
12.2.2 Mode of Delivery and Address .....................................................................................47
12.2.3 Marking...........................................................................................................................47
12.2.4 Number of Copies and Separation of Sections of Proposals........................................47
12.2.5 Deposit ............................................................................................................................47
12.2.6 Receipt of Proposal.........................................................................................................48
12.2.7 Amendments...................................................................................................................48
12.2.8 Validity of the Proposal..................................................................................................48
12.2.9 Advertisement ................................................................................................................48
12.2.10 Short-list ........................................................................................................................48
12.2.11 Letter of Intent ..............................................................................................................48
12.2.12 Performance Bond ........................................................................................................48
12.2.13 Letter of Understanding...............................................................................................49
12.2.14 Language.......................................................................................................................49
12.2.15 Currency........................................................................................................................49
12.2.16 Contents ........................................................................................................................49
12.3 Proposal Process................................................................................................................49
12.3.1 Communication during the First Stage .........................................................................49
12.3.2 First Stage: Proposal Development ...............................................................................49
12.3.3 First Stage Evaluation of Proposals and Short-Listing.................................................50
12.3.4 Second Stage: Integrated Solution Development .........................................................50
12.3.5 Second-Stage Evaluation and Shortlisting ....................................................................52
12.3.6 Multi-track negotiations.................................................................................................52
12.3.7 Final Selection .................................................................................................................52
12.3.8 Implementation...............................................................................................................52
12.4 Process Timeline................................................................................................................52
12.5 Mandatory Requirements and Evaluation Criteria.........................................................53
12.5.1 Mandatory Requirements ..............................................................................................53
Evaluation Criteria................................................................................................................53
Responding to specific evaluation criteria...........................................................................54
12.6 Rights of the Government.................................................................................................55
12.6.1 Amendments...................................................................................................................55
12.6.2 Acceptance of Proposals.................................................................................................55
12.6.3 Cost of Proposal..............................................................................................................55
12.6.4 Responding Organisation’s Responsibilities ................................................................55
12.6.5 Non-liability....................................................................................................................56
12.6.6 Confidential Information ...............................................................................................56
12.6.7 Failure of Negotiation ....................................................................................................56
12.6.8 Discrepancy of Document..............................................................................................56
12.6.9 Withholding Tax.............................................................................................................56
12.6.10 Governing Law .............................................................................................................56
Appendix 1 - Responding Organisation’s Undertaking Form ......................................................57
Appendix 2 - Bank Guarantee Deposit Form..................................................................................58
Appendix 3 - Quantum of Deposit for Responding Organisations...............................................60
1. For International Companies....................................................................................................60
2. For local companies not registered with the Ministry of Finance, Malaysia.........................60
3. For companies registered with the Ministry of Finance, Malaysia........................................60
Appendix 4 - Bank Guarantee Form for Performance Bond..........................................................61
Appendix 5 - Glossary......................................................................................................................64
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
Table 1: Summary of Information in School Governance and its Operational Functions ...............13
Table 2: Summary of Information for Student Affairs Management and Its Operational Functions.
........................................................................................................................................................14
Table 3: Summary of Information on Educational Resource and its Operational Functions ..........15
Table 4: Summary of Information on External Resource and its Operational Functions ................16
Table 5: Summary of Information on School Finance Functions.......................................................17
Table 6: Summary of Information on School Facilities System’s Functions .....................................17
Table 7: Summary of Information on Human Resource System’s Functions...................................18
Table 8: Summary of Information on School Security System’s Functions ......................................19
Figure 1: Three-Tier Application Architecture ...................................................................................23
Figure 2: Smart School Application Framework ................................................................................24
Figure 3: Funding model between Ministry of Education, Responding Organisations, Users and
Stakeholders..................................................................................................................................44
Figure 4: How short-listed Responding Organisations will form an unbound consortium............53
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
Concept Request For Proposal (CRFP)
For Smart School Management System (SSMS)
1 Overview of the MSC and the Smart School Project
Malaysia’s Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) aims to revolutionise how the world does
business. Located at the hub of Asia’s fastest growing markets, the MSC shall unlock
multimedia’s full potential by integrating ground breaking cyberlaws and outstanding
information infrastructure in an attractive physical environment. The MSC shall be a
regional launch site for companies developing or using leading multimedia technology,
allowing these innovators to harness Malaysia’s unique competitive advantages that arise
from its multicultural links, committed leadership, and proven track record in developing
products and services for regional and global markets.
The MSC is a gift from the Malaysian Government to technology developers and users
seeking to expand their Asian presence, to Malaysians wanting their country to prosper, and
to neighbouring countries aspiring to partner with a technology hub. The MSC is a 15-by-
50-kilometre zone extending south from Malaysia’s present national capital and business
hub, Kuala Lumpur. The nation is devoting this massive corridor to creating the perfect
environment for companies wanting to create, distribute and employ multimedia products
and services.
The MSC shall bring together the following four key elements
• Best possible physical infrastructure, including Kuala Lumpur City Centre, a new
world class airport and integrated logistics hub, rapid rail links to Kuala Lumpur, a
smart highway, and two intelligent garden cities.
• New laws, policies, and practices designed to enable and encourage electronic
commerce, facilitate the development of multimedia applications, and position Malaysia
as the regional leader in intellectual property protection.
• High capacity global telecommunications infrastructure built on MSC’s 2. 5-gigabitto-10-gigabit
digital optical fibre backbone and using Asynchronous Transfer Mode
(ATM) switches to provide fibre to the building. This network shall have a 5-gigabit
international gateway with direct links to the US, Europe, and Japan, as well as the other
nations in Southeast Asia.
• The Multimedia Development Corporation (MDC) – A one-stop Shop created to
manage and market the MSC. The MDC’s mission is to create the best environment in
the world for private sector companies to pursue multimedia and to facilitate their
investment in the MSC. The MDC is a high powered ‘one-stop super shop’ wholly
focused on ensuring the success of the MSC and the companies operating in it.
1.1 MSC Flagship Applications
To speed the MSC’s evolution, the Malaysian Government has targeted seven
multimedia applications for rapid development. These flagship applications
are Electronic Government, Telemedicine, Smart Schools, Multipurpose Card,
R&D Clusters, Worldwide Manufacturing Webs, and Borderless Marketing
Centres.
The objective of these flagship applications is to attract a critical mass of worldclass
companies to develop leading edge applications, products, and services
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
in the MSC. Specifically, the flagship applications aim to increase the
productivity and competitiveness of Malaysia and also create a global test bed
for innovative solutions.
The flagships shall improve Malaysia’s productivity and competitiveness by
increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of technology transfer and creating
an environment that nurtures highly competitive webs of Malaysian and
international small and medium enterprises. The flagships shall also increase
foreign direct investment into high technology and shall accelerate the
development of a robust services sector.
The flagship applications also aim at creating a global test bed for innovation
by allowing consortia to pioneer new applications of multimedia in the public
and private sectors. The flagships shall also build platforms for ongoing
innovation and create standards that allow growing reverse investment from
MSC consortia. The flagship shall create the opportunity for the MSC to
develop a strong reputation for commercial R&D and shall also strengthen
Malaysia’s skill base in multimedia R&D.
1.2 Smart School Project Objectives and Approach
Smart Schools, one of the flagships of the MSC, has been identified as a critical
enabler to transform radically, the Malaysian school system. The objectives of
implementing these Smart Schools, which are based on Malaysia’s National
Philosophy of Education, are to
• produce a thinking and technology-literate workforce
• democratise education
• increase participation of stakeholders
• provide all-round development of the individual including (intellectual,
physical, emotional and spiritual)
• provide opportunities to enhance individual strengths and abilities
The basis for a Malaysian Smart School is provided in the The Malaysian
Smart School: A Conceptual Blueprint that has been drafted by a joint
industry – Ministry of Education task force, basing itself on an original policy
document (Smart Schools in Malaysia: A Quantum Leap) prepared by the
Ministry of Education. This team also prepared a document, The Malaysian
Smart School Implementation Plan to guide the conversion of existing schools
into Smart Schools in two stages. In the first stage, 90 schools in 1999 shall be
converted into Smart Schools. The second stage is to convert the estimated
10,000 primary and secondary schools by 2010.
1.3 The Smart School Pilot Effort
1.3.1 Objectives
These pilots, implemented in the 90 pioneer schools, shall allow for
testing, evaluation, improvement and further fine-tuning to be made to
the solutions proposed. Since the pioneer schools are made up of different
kinds of schools, the pilots shall also be tested according to the suitability
of their solutions to different schools. The pilots shall also be an
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
opportunity to evaluate the extent, to which vendors are able to meet
deadlines, fulfil predetermined performance levels and generally,
demonstrate their implementation capabilities.
1.3.2 Background information of pilots
The 90 pioneer schools, among which the pilots are to be implemented
comprise six different categories of schools:
• 9 new schools – 5 primary and 4 secondary – four in the Sri Bintang
Complex, two in the Batu Permai Complex and three in Putra Jaya;
• 36 residential secondary schools;
• 14 Munshi Network schools, currently piloting electronic resource
centres;
• 14 state secondary schools;
• 14 state primary schools;
• 3 remote schools without direct electricity supply, comprising 2
primary schools and 1 secondary school.
The implementation shall involve allocating schools according to
predetermined levels of technology, ranging from a preliminary level to
the highest level. At the highest level, schools are equipped with a high
ratio of computers to teachers and schoolchildren, and full multimedia
laboratories such as labs, audio-visual equipment and Local Area
Network (LAN) and Wide Area Network (WAN) networks.
Full details of these schools including location, staff and student strength,
the existing levels of computerisation and other information are listed in
The Malaysian Smart School Implementation Plan.
1.3.3 Scope of the Pilot Projects
The pilot efforts shall be in line with the different levels of technology that
have been allocated to the schools. For any given level, the applications in
the pilots shall be implemented to the maximum extent allowed by the
level of technology assigned. Details of the levels of technology are
described in The Malaysian Smart School Implementation Plan.
Each Responding Organisation is expected to detail their deliverables as
well as their performance criteria to be used to evaluate their
implementation.
1.4 Concept Requests for Proposals
1.4.1 Overview
The Concept Request for Proposals (CRFP) outlines the high-level
functional requirements expected in each Responding Organisation’s
proposal. The CRFP does not explicitly specify platforms, but prescribes a
framework built around broadly detailed standards and policies. It gives
the Responding Organisation the flexibility to innovate, creating the best
solutions to deliver these benefits. Specifically, the CRFP details:
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
• Solution Requirements:
Functional, operational, technical, financial and implementation.
• Required capabilities of Responding Organisation:
Organisational, financial and technical.
• Instructions for Responding Organisations:
Proposal procedures and high-level evaluation criteria.
1.4.2 Documents to be read with this CRFP
This CRFP shall be read in conjunction with the following documents, in
order to get a full picture of the Smart School project.
• The Malaysian Smart School: A Conceptual Blueprint.
This document provides the conceptual overview of the whole Smart
School project.
• The Malaysian Smart School Implementation Plan.
This document presents the roadmap for creating Malaysian Smart
Schools.
• Smart School Information Technology Policy and Standards.
The primary audience for this document is intended to be Malaysian
Government Agencies and Multimedia Development Corporation
personnel responsible for making decisions about information
technology, and those organizations desiring to provide systems for
the Malaysian Government that conform to this set of policies.
• The other CRFPs for the Smart School pilots
As the CRFPs describe a tight integration between their various
described components, familiarity with the requirements of the other
CRFPs will be an advantage in producing an integrable solution
1.4.3 The Smart School CRFPs
The Smart School Project is built on five CRFPs that invite organisations
to offer solutions on one or more of the following areas:
• The Smart School Teaching-Learning Materials
This CRFP for Teaching-Learning (T-L) Materials focuses on four
subjects (Bahasa Melayu, English, Mathematics and Science) that shall
be used in classrooms in conjunction with the pedagogical practices
outlined in The Malaysian Smart School Conceptual Blueprint. These
materials, with built-in assessment, shall promote learning in a
manner that is best suited to the student’s individual learning pace
and style. The CRFP shall also outline requests for training modules
and a master-trainer training program.
• The Smart School Assessment System
The CRFP for the Smart School Assessment System addresses the
Smart School’s assessment packages and the Life-Time Database
(LTDB), which shall assess and record students’ academic progress
and performance. The CRFP also outlines requests for the training
and certification of assessors.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
• The Smart School Management System (SSMS)
The CRFP for the Smart School Management System outlines the need
for automating school’s administrative processes. This system shall
have many linkages with the other sections of the Smart School,
especially Teaching-Learning and Assessment systems, as well as
with external Ministry of Education databases. The CRFP shall also
outline requests for training modules, as well as the training of a
group of management trainers.
• The Smart School Technology Infrastructure
The CRFP for the Smart School Technology Infrastructure addresses
the hardware and LAN that shall be used by 79 of the Smart Schools
(the technology infrastructure of the nine new schools and two of the
residential secondary schools is beyond the scope of this CRFP). This
shall be used to support the Teaching-Learning, Management and
Assessment system applications. The systems shall conform to
specified standards to ensure interoperability.
• The Smart Schools Systems Integration
The CRFP for Systems Integration focuses on the System Integrator’s
(SI’s) responsibilities for design and implementation of the overall
Smart Schools system. The SI shall ensure the detailed design,
installation, testing and acceptance of each of the Smart School subapplications
(Teaching-Learning, School Management system,
Assessment system and Hardware / Infrastructure). The SI is also
responsible for the network management and the user assistance
services. The CRFP also outlines the need for training for system and
network administrators, as well as an overall training strategy and
logistics for teachers and principals. The SI shall design and be
responsible for the management of the WAN architecture.
Although there are five separate CRFPs, Responding Organisations are
welcome to submit proposals that cover the requirements of more than
one CRFP. The two-stage process for selection is outlined in Section 1.4.5,
and described in more detail in the chapter titled “Instructions to
Responding Organisations”.
1.4.4 Obtaining a Printed Copy of The CRFPs and Related Documents
A hardcopy of all the CRFPs with the related documents shall be
purchased from the
SMART SCHOOL CRFP SECRETARIAT
Educational Technology Division
Ministry of Education
Pesiaran Bukit Kiara
50604 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
They may be obtained in person during office hours, from 26 July 1997
until 30 September 1997. CRFPs shall not be sold after this period. The
office hours are as follows:
Monday-Thursday 0800 – 1245, 1400 – 1615
Friday 0800 – 1215, 1445 – 1615
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
Saturday 0800 – 1245
The CRFPs may be purchased upon payment of a non-refundable fee.
Payment shall be in the form of Bank draft in favour of the Chief
Accountant, Ministry of Education, Malaysia.
The documents are packaged into two sets:
1. The Malaysian Smart School: A Conceptual Blueprint, the Malaysian
Smart School Implementation Plan, the Smart School Information
Technology Policy and Standards document and all five of the CRFPs,
2. The curriculum documents for the relevant subjects, which are
necessary for any Responding Organisation interested in responding
to the CRFP for the Smart Schools Teaching-Learning Materials and
the document, Smart Assessment: An Introduction, which may be
useful for those responding to the CRFP for Smart Schools
Assessment System.
1.4.5 CRFP Process and Timeline
The CRFP process for the Smart Schools project has two stages. The first
stage qualifies individual organisations for participation in the second
stage, in which they shall join in an "unbound consortium" that shall
provide a comprehensive, integrated response to the requirements of all
five Smart School CRFPs. In this way, the CRFP process aims to foster the
development of webs of collaborating companies, which shall further the
growth of the MSC. In addition, the inclusion of Malaysian companies in
these unbound consortia offers one avenue for the transfer of technology
to and development of skills in Malaysian enterprises, though there are
other, additional ways for the unbound consortia to fulfil this obligation.
The chapter titled “Instructions to Responding Organisations” contains a
detailed account of the CRFP process.
First stage: Individual Proposal Development
The first stage consists of organisations responding with a proposal for a
product or service for a particular CRFP. However, they should be aware
that the CRFPs represent requests for proposals that shall be eventually
integrated into a total integrated solution system. Hence, they shall be
prepared to state a proposal that incorporates their vision of how their
particular product or service will fit into the overall solution. In particular
they shall address issues of how they plan to develop, deploy, distribute,
support and provide access to the service or product.
The Government shall then evaluate and short-list the proposals to
identify the Responding Organisations capable of participation in the
second round.
Second Stage: Total Integrated Solution Development
The short-listed organisations shall then work with each other in
unbound consortia, in order to produce a complete integrated solution.
There are several conditions as to the make-up of these unbound
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
consortia that are outlined in the chapter “Instructions to Responding
Organisations”.
.
Abbreviated Timeline
• 30 September 1997: The deadline by which the Responding
Organisations shall submit their proposals.
• 1 December 1997: Short-listed Responding Organisations for the
integrated proposal round are announced.
• December to March 1998: Short-listed Responding Organisations
form unbound consortia and prepare integrated proposals.
• 31 March 1998: Deadline by which the unbound consortia shall
submit their integrated proposals.
• 1 July 1998: Second round selection is completed. The successful
proposal and the winning unbound consortium shall be announced.
The Government shall sign a contract with all the Responding
Organisations that comprise the winning unbound consortium or
with a legally bound consortium that comprise all the Responding
Organisation of the winning unbound consortium. The terms and
conditions of the contract shall be agreed upon between the
Government and all the Responding Organisations that comprise the
said legally bound consortium as the case may be.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
2 Introduction to the Smart School Management System (SSMS) CRFP
2.1 Background
The primary objective for the SSMS is to support teaching and learning
functions within schools by managing resources and processes more efficiently
and effectively. This includes linkages and functionality required to support
school processes that relate to external entities such as:
• District Education Offices
• State Education Departments
• Ministry of Education (MoE)
• Relevant Government agencies
• Parents
• The community
• Relevant NGOs, suppliers, etc
Each of the activities under the Smart Schools management functions can be
categorised into one of nine broad areas. These nine areas, however, are
classified as such because of the major emphasis of their functions. They are
not necessarily mutually exclusive as a number of them may share some
common databases, providing for the necessity for integration across them.
The nine functional areas are briefly described as follows:
School Governance: This part of the school management function deals with
school policies and regulations. It ensures efficient communication between
relevant agencies and stake holders, and makes decisions on curriculum
management to fit the school's local environment and to tailor it according to
students' needs.
Student Affairs: The Student Affairs component of the Smart Schools
management system deals with all the issues that relate to students' teachinglearning
and welfare needs. It maintains a comprehensive database of student
records.
Educational Resources: This component manages a teaching-learning resource
database that is quick and easily accessed by students and teachers. It
provides schools with relevant and appropriate teaching-learning materials in
a timely manner.
External Resource: The External Resource component maintains a
comprehensive database on available external resources that are relevant and
applicable to the teaching-learning scenarios in schools. It should also provide
and manage resources to enable "virtual visits".
Finance: This component of the Smart Schools management system handles
the fiscal management portion. It consists of a comprehensive educational
accounting system with direct interface to the District Education Office and the
State Education Department.
Facilities: This component of the Smart Schools management system
maintains and manages the utilisation of the school's facilities. It contains
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
comprehensive records of inventories and is capable of tracking the movement
of removable assets.
Human Resource: This component comprises a comprehensive Human
Resource Management System which tracks the individual staff member's
development programmes. It manages the staff development programme of
the school to ensure balanced opportunities for all staff members to attend or
participate at seminars, conferences and workshops for professional
development. It also manages staff's promotions and transfers.
Security: A system is required to ensure human safety as well as physical
safety of the school. Measures required include the need for proper
identification or authorisation for access into school or access into certain
databases of the school communication systems.
Technology: This component of the Smart Schools management system
manages the technology components of the school and includes IT hardware
and IT resource management, network management and technology designs
upgrading.
2.2 Objective
The objective of this CRFP is to invite proposals from Responding
Organisations for the following:
The supplying, integrating, installing, testing, commissioning, training and
post-acceptance maintenance and support services for an integrated Smart
Schools Management System (SSMS).
Each proposal, from either an individual Responding Organisation or a
Consortium of Responding Organisations, shall include:
• An integrated management software covering the nine areas of the
management function, namely, Financial, Student Affairs, Educational
Resource, External Resource, Human Resource, Facilities, School
Governance, Security, and Technology for the first phase of 90 Smart
Schools to be implemented beginning January 1999;
• Training Programme for Management Trainers (Training Programme).
The Responding Organisation shall prepare and implement a training
programme to train Management Trainers. These Management Trainers
shall train other Trainers. Management Trainers and Trainers will then be
responsible for the training of school administration teams comprising
principals of secondary schools, headmasters of primary schools, senior
assistants and clerks as well as Ministry of Education officers from district,
state and federal levels.
• Training Modules. The Responding Organisation shall prepare Training
modules related to the SSMS for Management Trainers to use in the
Training Programme.
Response:
• The Responding Organisation shall submit a single proposal for all 3
components.
• Since all administrative aspects of the Smart Schools are covered by the
SSMS, the applications and systems specified in other Smart School
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
CRFPs will need to be integrated with the SSMS. Consequently, the
Responding Organisation awarded the contract to implement the SSMS
shall be required to integrate all the Smart School systems and
applications.
• The Responding Organisation is encouraged to submit innovative
proposals for systems that can be deployed in phases for various,
possibly differing, technology platforms commensurate with the
different levels of technology that will be deployed in Malaysia’s
schools. These technology requirements, together with the levels of
technology to be deployed in the schools, are described in the document,
The Malaysian Smart School Implementation Plan.
2.3 The Roles of the Smart School Management System (SSMS)
In addition to supporting the management functions of the Smart School, the
SSMS must also integrate the following systems that are to be specified in the
other CRFPs:
• Teaching-Learning Materials
• Assessment
• IT Security management
• Network and System management
• User Support/Helpdesk
The SSMS will help integrate the different functions outlined in the other four
Smart School CRFPs by:
• acting as a common user front-end for access to all applications
• consolidating database information across multiple applications
• allowing access between certain applications and other, possibly external,
databases and applications
• allowing access to existing databases within the various divisions in the
Ministry of Education, thus requiring these databases to be integrated with
the SSMS that will be developed.
By integrating these different systems and applications, the SSMS should
reduce time and effort spent by teaching staff on non-teaching tasks and
provide timely access to relevant information, which will help more
stakeholders participate in, and improve, Malaysia’s educational decisionmaking
processes.
The Responding Organisation shall propose optimal integration methods and
ensure:
• Alignment of all applications and systems around a common framework of
access, deployment, distribution, security, management and support
• Minimisation of the number of disparate systems and platforms to be
installed, managed and supported
• Consolidation of information in the interest of reducing unnecessary
information redundancy
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
• Integration of databases where necessary
• The access requirements of disparate constituencies encompassing the
Ministry of Education, other government agencies, students and their
parents, the community, corporations and other organisations are met.
2.4 Functions of the SSMS
As mentioned in paragraph 2.1, the functions of the SSMS can be categorised
into 9 areas. Each of these areas does not necessarily need a system of its own,
as there are many links between systems.
Residential and semi-residential schools have an additional function of hostel
management.
These functional areas are described in the The Malaysian Smart School: A
Conceptual Blueprint, with the requirements for the SSMS being detailed in the
following section.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
3 Functional Requirements
This section describes the function of SSMS. The requirements are organised below into 10
sub-sections that correspond to the 9 functional areas listed in the previous section and an
additional Hostel Management function for residential schools. This categorisation does not
imply or mandate that 10 separate sub-systems are to be provided in the SSMS. The
Responding Organisation shall propose an integrated SSMS that, at a minimum
• Meets the functional requirements stated in this CRFP
• Organises access to all applications and services in a manner consistent with the
category or role of the user.
3.1 School Governance
School Governance is a function that is primarily concerned with the day-today
governance of school-wide policies and operations.
The School Governance part of the Smart School Management System Software
shall
• receive and send messages from and to the divisions of the Ministry of
Education, the State Education Departments, District Education Offices
and parents or the community at large.
• enable the recording of the daily attendance of students, teachers and all
other staff members. This component shall therefore be linked to “Student
Affairs”, “External Resource”, and the “Human Resource” components.
• allow the recording and analysing of students’ achievement measures for
all school-based assessment. Plots and groups the growth curves and
calculates the necessary basic summary statistics of the measures at regular
intervals.
• allow storage of students’ co-curricular activities records that are accessible
by the principal, teachers, students and students' own parents, but
protected from others unless given permission to access.
• enable the preparation of teachers’ timetables, given all the necessary
variables such as total number of periods per week for teachers concerned,
the subject(s) taught by each teacher, teachers’ names, whether teaching
periods should be consecutive or otherwise, total number of teachers
available for a given subject, etc.
• make messaging services available to all in school, for communication
between the principal, teachers, students, office staff members, as well as
members of the community.
• enable transfer and exchange of teaching-learning and reference materials
as well as allowing consultations and the sharing of expertise (outsourcing
of expertise) amongst teachers across the country.
• allow access to centrally located government materials such as the
Government General Orders and Government Financial Orders as well as
all other government circulars to the principal, teachers and other office
staff members only.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
• provide a channel of communication between school and the community
as well as relevant higher authorities in the planning and implementation
of school projects such as fund raisers and sports.
• enable the school administrators to classify materials and restrict access to
materials according to the type of user and materials.
Information
Operational Functions
1 • Reports on subject panel • Record, dissemination and retrieval
discussions and minutes of
meetings
2. • Teacher and class time tables
including relief time tables
• Construction, record, dissemination and
retrieval
3. • Teaching and non–teaching tasks
performed by staff
• Record, retrieval and analysis for summary
data on workload
4. • Government General Orders • Retrieval and dissemination.
• Ministry of Education Circulars
5. • Students’ assessment records • Record, retrieval, analysis and reporting.
6. • Co–curricular activities – • Record, retrieval, analysis and reporting.
Participation and assessment
7. • Curriculum Management • System that is able to monitor the
implementation of the school curriculum.
Table 1: Summary of Information in School Governance and its Operational Functions
3.2 Student Affairs Management
The Student Affairs component is concerned with the management of student
information and all other items pertaining to student matters. This solution
shall enable
• input and retrieval of data on:
− student’s profile which include personal particulars (historical and
current) as well as performance records that can be adapted for usage
in assessment records,
− parents’ or guardians’ relevant personal records for usage in scholarship
awards, book loan etc.
• reporting and analysing of student data which include assessment scores
• projection of student performance.
• compilation of feedback on student's performance by various parties.
• input, retrieval, analysis and reporting of data on students, categorised by
age, sex, race, religion, socio-economic status, and other classifiers.
• transfer of data on student profiles between schools district and state
education offices and the various divisions of the Education Ministry, as
may be required when students move.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
• provide information on facilities used by students and teachers such as the
borrowing of science equipment, books under the text book loan scheme,
books from the school library, scholarships and grants, and the use of
hostel rooms (for fully and semi-residential schools).
• recording of attendance and participation details on students’ curricular
and co-curricular activities,
• recording and retrieval of confidential information on students’ discipline,
academic performance, health and insurance, and counsellor’s reports as
well as the follow-up and follow through actions by the school.
• on-site and off-site registration of students with the school .
Information Operational Function
1. • Student biodata e.g. health profiles • Record and retrieval
2. • On-going assessment records and • Record retrieval, and reporting
teacher reports on individual students
3. • Student family background • Record and retrieval
4. • Student attendance in school. • Record and retrieval
5. • Participation in co-curricular activities at
various levels e.g. debates, sports and
games at district, state, national and
International levels.
6. • Confidential reports on student’s overall
discipline and academic performance
7. • Counsellor’s confidential report on
students
8. • Rooming system – records on hostel
boarders (Residential schools)
9. • Analysis of students’ scores and
measures by some basic variables such
as sex, age, socio-economic status, etc.
• Record, retrieval, analysis and
reporting
• Restricted record and retrieval,
analysis and reporting
• Restricted record and retrieval,
analysis and reporting
• Record and retrieval
• Record, retrieval, analysis and
reporting
• Automated file transfer between
schools, education offices and
divisions of the Education Ministry
Table 2: Summary of Information for Student Affairs Management and Its Operational Functions.
Note: Report formats include formats for school testimonials, students’
performance reports, and students’ profiles.
3.3 Educational Resources Management
The Educational Resources Management component deals with managing the
usage of resources for teaching-learning delivery. The “Educational Resource”
portion of the SSMS shall
• enable the input and retrieval of teaching-learning materials
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
• enable the input and retrieval of personal data of available resource
persons.
• maintain an inventory of all the schools’ property and records of borrowals
and returns. These records shall be accessible to teachers and other staff
members of the school,
• consist of an automated library management system to manage borrowals
and returns of library and other educational resource materials, interlibrary
loans, generation of reminders for overdue materials and the
monitoring of fines and payments for overdue materials returned.
Information
Operational Function
1. Detailed inventory of all teaching and audio visual –
aids. e.g. OHP’s, T.V, VCR, science equipment,
software, teaching-learning materials, and analysis
of usage of all these equipment and materials
2. Electronic library management system :
• Cataloguing
• Borrowing and returning of resources from and
to the library
3. Multiple locations in the school for reception of video
demonstrations.
• Coding of equipment,
record, retrieval, tracking
and monitoring
• Automated
• Inter-library loan facilities
and communication
• On-line catalogue from
teachers’ and students’
homes
• Recording, tracking and
issuance of reminders for
late returns
• Protection against theft of
library materials
• Centralised control and
online monitoring of video
shows by IT demonstrator
Table 3: Summary of Information on Educational Resource and its Operational Functions
3.4 External Resources Management
Information Required
The External Resources component deals with the management of resources
and linkages to constituencies outside the school. The “External Resource”
portion of the SSMS shall enable access to external databases for the retrieval of
real-time and recorded data and the monitoring of the access to external
resources by users.
Operational Function
1. Learning materials from external sources • External linkages to other
agencies such as mass
media, museums, media
centres, and institutions
of higher learning.
2. General and academic materials • External linkages to other
educational resources.
Table 4: Summary of Information on External Resource and its Operational Functions
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
3.5 Financial Management
Operational Function
1. School Accounts Maintenance Systems: audit reports,
debit and credit entries, monthly balances, analysis
of financial items, sub accounts, fees collection,
accounts tracking.
2. Purchasing system: Information on invoices,
authorisation of payments, quotation requests
• Record, retrieval and
dissemination to relevant
agencies and offices, with
restricted access to some.
• Preparation formats,
record, retrieval and
dissemination
3. Salary: payment and receipt • Record, retrieval and
dissemination
4. School assets and revenue from usage • Record, tracking, retrieval
and accounting
5. Inventory: maintenance, schedule of usage, prices • Record, scheduling,
retrieval and monitoring
Table 5: Summary of Information on School Finance Functions.
The Financial Management component handles the fiscal management portion
of the SSMS. The school financial system includes budgeting, reporting,
accounting, procurement, project funding, long term planning, audit and
control. The solution shall:
• generate customised reports periodically as required by various governing
agencies for checking and monitoring purposes. Some such reports are
the monthly balance of statement, bank reconciliation, cash-book entry in
terms of income and expenditure, monthly and annual audit reports.
• interface to Ministry of Education finance accounting system to provide
financial information to district, state and federal levels.
• have a fixed asset system that gathers data and reports on the acquisition,
transfer and use of school funds.
• provide a budget development system with an on-line entry of budget
development information by school, district and state education offices
and the federal authorities.
• easily track, update and review assets leading to efficient and effective
accounting with:
− an account payable system for procurement that uses purchase orders,
and that receives information and invoices to authorise payment to
vendors;
− an ability to generate check transmittal and warrants after check runs
and integrate appropriate payable transactions into the general
accounting system;
• have validation and fund checking capabilities
• shall track cash flows and make on-demand audit and other reports as
required by the district, state and federal authorities.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
• have a system to monitor the hostel financial management (for fully and
semi-residential schools) such as finances related to food and
accommodation.
3.6 Facilities Management
The Facilities Management component is involved in maintaining and
managing the utilisation of school facilities. The Facilities Management
portion of the SSMS shall:
• enable the tracking of usage and maintenance of all forms of school
facilities such as sports facilities, halls and classrooms, hostels, science
equipment and computers. This includes the scheduling of required
maintenance and servicing of equipment
• enable the management of all inventory, fixed assets and facilities with a
built-in reporting system
• enable the scheduling of the usage of facilities by staff, students and other
authorised parties.
Information
Operational Function
1. • Inventory of facilities with item specifications • Record, retrieval, tracking and
reporting
2. • Scheduling of usage facilities • Record, retrieval, tracking and
reporting
3. • Budgeting for maintenance • Record, retrieval, tracking and
reporting
Table 6: Summary of Information on School Facilities System’s Functions
3.7 Human Resources Management
The Human Resources Management component supports the organisation,
planning and implementation of school staff development programmes. The
“Human Resource” portion of the SSMS shall:
• allow the input and retrieval of data on teachers and supporting staff.
• have a combination of a payroll/personnel system. The payroll functions
perform along with the related personnel functions of recruiting,
employment, staffing, certification records, professional development
records, records on discipline and other related matters.
• be able to access a payroll and personnel system that combines payroll
information with records on recruiting, employment, staffing, certification,
professional development, discipline, and other related matters.
• be able to generate monthly and annual reports to district and state
education offices, as well as to relevant divisions of the Ministry of
Education.
• enable the recording and planning of staff development programmes.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
• enable the input and retrieval of staff’s personal biodata, records of
service, promotions, achievements, courses attended and health.
• record attendance and participation details on staff members’ curricular
and co-curricular duties.
• enable the transfer of personal files from school to other institutions when
staff members are transferred, or retire, or leave the service.
Information Operational Function
1. • Teacher and support staff
profiles
• Analysis for basic statistics on teachers, students,
in terms of background, categories and ability to
• Individual data files
sort according to various variables, and
• Salary records and updates
determination of teacher–student ratio
• Service records and updates • Record and retrieval
• Teaching licence records
• Medical records
• Records of expertise and
professional achievements.
• Staff development records for
each teacher
2. Incorporation of confidential staff
appraisals
3. System to determine manpower
needs
4. File transfer between schools and
various divisions of the Ministry
of Education.
• Record, retrieval and reporting, with restricted
access to confidential reports
• Projections on school’s student population and
analysis of future need for staff, based on current
and available previous data, record and retrieval
• Record, retrieval and dissemination
Table 7: Summary of Information on Human Resource System’s Functions
3.8 Security Management
Information
The Security Management component helps manage the safety of staff and
students when they are at school, as well as the safety of the school itself.
Requirements for a comprehensive IT security solution are described in the
CRFP for Smart School Systems Integration. This Security portion of the SSMS
shall consist of a security monitoring system that:
• identifies authorised visitors and detects trespassers;
• signals early warnings against break-ins, fires, leakage of gas and other
poisonous fumes in science laboratories.
• protection against vandalism.
Operational Function
1. Security of school grounds, staff
and students during and after
school hours.
Monitoring of school access points
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
Table 8: Summary of Information on School Security System’s Functions
3.9 Technology Management
Technology functions of the school can be categorised into the following:
• IT management. The requirements for a comprehensive IT Management
solution is described in the document CRFP for Smart School Systems
Integration.
• Non-IT technology management. Descriptions of these components can be
found in the document, CRFP for Smart School Technology Infrastructure.
Responding Organisations are invited to propose solutions that may assist
in the management of these technologies.
3.10 Hostel Management
This component of school management is applicable only to fully residential or
semi-residential schools. The solution shall:
• enable the input and retrieval of data on hostel fees collection, (income and
expenditure)
• input records of usage of rooms by boarders as well as rental by other
agencies
• input records of student boarders, their welfare e.g., health, and their
activities outside school hours, including records of their days in and out
of school
• record the daily and weekly menus and food supply
• record usage and maintenance of hostel facilities such as dormitories,
dining halls and kitchen facilities
• record inventories of hostel facilities and monitor their movement.
3.11 Summary of communications requirements
The following tables summarise some of the communication requirements for
the 9 functional areas of the SSMS. The tables show participants in the
information exchange between the school administration, staff, students,
parents and the community, district education offices, state education
departments and the various divisions of the Ministry of Education. To reduce
repetition, communications, which involve a two-way exchange, are only listed
once.
The following abbreviations are used in the tables:
GOV --
School Governance
SA -- Student Affairs Management
EDU -- Educational Resource Management
EXT -- External Resource Management
FIN -- Financial Management
FAC -- Facilities Management
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
HR -- Human Resources Management
SEC -- Security Management
TEC -- Technology Management
School-wide broadcast of information From To
GOV
SA
EDU
EXT
FIN
FAC
HR
SEC
TEC
• Information on school policy Admin Teachers &
Students
• General Orders and government circulars
(accept restricted ones)
• Teaching and non-teaching tasks schedule Admin Teachers &
Students
• Analysis of students' academic achievement Admin Teachers &
according to class, grades and levels
Students
• Resources available for teaching and Admin Teachers &
learning
Students
• Training, seminars and workshops for
teachers and supporting staff
• Announcements and events Admin Entire
School
ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü
Admin Teachers ü ü ü ü ü ü
ü ü ü ü ü ü ü
ü
ü
ü ü ü ü ü
Admin Teachers ü ü ü ü ü
ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü
Common information exchange between
parents, community and school From To
administration.
• School’s academic and co-curricular Admin Parents &
achievements
Public
• School and hostel facilities Admin Parents &
Public
• Funds and scholarship Admin Parents &
Public
• Book loan scheme Admin Parents &
Public
• Opportunities for career development. Admin Parents &
Public
• Parent-Teachers Association activities Teachers Parents &
Public
• School-based and external assessment types Admin Parents &
and schedules
Public
• Curriculum content Teachers Parents &
Public
• Assignments Teachers Teachers,
Parents &
Public
• Co-curricular activities in school Teachers Parents &
Public
• Public security measures Admin Parents &
Public
• Resources available for teaching and
learning
• Training, seminars and workshops for
teachers and supporting staff
• Educational resources for fieldwork that
can be utilised in Teaching and learning
• Feedback from parents and
Community on management of school
Teachers
Admin
School
staff
Parents
& Public
Teachers,
Parents &
Public
Teachers,
Parents &
Public
Parents &
Public
GOV
SA
EDU
EXT
FIN
FAC
HR
SEC
ü ü ü
ü ü ü ü ü
ü ü ü ü
ü ü ü ü
ü ü ü
ü ü ü ü ü
TEC
ü ü ü ü
ü
ü
ü ü ü
ü ü ü
ü ü ü ü ü
ü ü ü
ü ü ü
ü ü ü ü
Admin ü ü ü ü
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
(such as changes in internal school policy)
Information which requires
secure, privileged access
From
To
GOV
SA
EDU
EXT
FIN
FAC
HR
SEC
TEC
• Individual students’ profiles Admin Parents, MoE, State
Edu.Dept, & District
Edu. Office
• Discipline reports Admin Parents, MoE, State
Edu.Dept, & District
Edu. Office
• Records and reports on students
discipline outside schooling
hours
Admin
Parents,&
Community and
public safety
organisations (e.g
police, Welfare Dept)
• Counselling reports Admin Parents,&
Community and
public safety
organisations (e.g
police, Welfare Dept)
• Individual academic and cocurricular
progress reports
Admin
Parents, MoE, State
Edu.Dept, & District
Edu. Office
• Financial information Admin MoE, State Edu.Dept,
& District Edu. Office
ü ü ü
ü ü ü
ü ü ü
ü ü ü
ü ü ü
ü ü ü
Information exchange between
individuals and groups
From
To
GOV
SA
EDU
EXT
FIN
FAC
HR
SEC
TEC
• Lesson plan strategy Teachers Teachers
within a
school and
other
schools
• School-based research School
staff and
students
• Exchange programs School
staff and
students
School
staff and
students
from other
schools
School
staff and
students
from other
schools
ü ü ü
ü ü
ü ü ü
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
4 Technical Requirements
This section describes technical requirements that are common across all CRFPs, as well as
specific requirements that are particular to this CRFP.
4.1 Application Architecture
All applications to be deployed in the Smart Schools shall use an n-tiered
application architecture. Figure 1 shows the minimum three tiers which any
application shall split into. These three tiers are:
• User-Interface
• Application services
• Data and database services
Specific applications shall then consolidate or distribute services as required
when performing particular optimisations. These requirements shall likely
evolve over time as additional applications are introduced, or the loads on a
particular server increase. For example, application and database services for a
particular application may initially be deployed on the same platform, with
database services migrating to another server later for performance and
consolidation reasons.
This modular architecture provides a flexible, extensible and open basis for
deploying applications, enabling introduction or substitution of individual
components. Modular architectures require standard interfaces and protocols
APPLICATION ARCHITECTURE
New
Applications
Application
Client
+
UI
Teaching
Learning
Materials
School
Management
Central
Assessment
Databases
Client P.O.A.
Device
Application Services
School
Data Repositories
Figure 1: Three-Tier Application Architecture
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
to ensure interoperability between application tiers. Some of these standards are
described in the document, Smart School Information Technology Policy and
Standards. Section 4.3 describes general standards compliance requirements that apply
across all CRFPs.
Responses:
• Responding Organisations shall acknowledge requirements for an n-tiered
Application Architecture.
• Responding Organisations shall state how their proposed solutions comply
with the prescribed application architecture.
4.2 Application Framework
While the previous section describes the preferred three-tier application architecture,
this section describes a framework for organising the applications needed by the Smart
Schools. Figure 2 shows the desired Smart School Application Framework.
All applications shall adhere to the Smart School Application Framework, which has
the following features:
• A Common User Front End, which provides a standard means for
USER
ACCESS
Common User Front End
APPS
Assessment
School Management
System
Teaching-Learning
Materials
DATA
Data
bases
Databases
Data
bases
Figure 3: Smart School Application Framework
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
accessing all Smart School applications.
• Various applications, which are specified in the CRFPs for Teaching-
Learning Materials, Assessment, Systems Integration and Smart School
Management System.
• Separate databases: In some cases, applications may use several databases.
However, at times a centralised, consolidated database may be more
appropriate. Examples include student personal data and persistent data
that exceed the lifetime of individual applications. In these instances, the
application shall support integration with external databases. Equally, an
application shall also support and facilitate access by other applications to
its own databases.
The application framework needs to have the following features:
• Portability: The ability of application systems to operate on various
platforms regardless of manufacturer or operating system.
• Flexibility: The capability to take advantage of new technologies and
resources, and be implemented in changing environments. Flexibility
contributes to lower overall costs by allowing procurement of software and
hardware from multiple sources.
• Interoperability: The ability to work together on a network, connect with,
and share data and processes with computers and applications from other
vendors.
• Scalability: The capability for application systems to migrate as a client or
server to machines of greater or lesser power, depending upon
requirements, with little or no change to the underlying components.
• Usability: The ease of use of applications systems to enhance and support,
rather than limit or restrict, school processes. Human interfaces need to be
intuitive and consistent with other application systems in the environment,
and within themselves in both purpose and use.
• Manageability: The applications, hardware and software shall be
manageable and easy to operate.
Responses:
• Responding Organisations shall acknowledge requirements specified in
this section.
• Responding Organisations shall describe in detail their proposed
application framework and the extent to which it meets or exceeds the
specified requirements.
• Responding Organisations shall describe their approaches to providing
a common user front end
• For the First Stage, Responding Organisations shall describe features of
their solutions that support the requirements for portability, flexibility,
interoperability, scalability, usability and manageability.
• For the Second Stage, the Unbound Consortium shall describe the extent
to which all Smart School applications shall be accessed from the
common user front end.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
4.3 Standards Compliance
An open standards-based technology architecture is strongly preferred, and
although Responding Organisations may refer to the technology standards and
guidelines specified in the document, Smart School Information Technology Policy
and Standards, the following principles shall serve as the basis for the use of
mechanisms or standards to be utilised in solutions proposed:
• Open, barrier free, flexible, architecturally neutral technologies that are
accessible and available to all
• Availability of solutions conformant with the standard, from multiple
vendor sources, in multiple implementations, across multiple
heterogeneous platforms.
• Standards that are non-proprietary and do not lock a solution to only one
hardware platform or operating system
“Open systems” refers to products and technologies that have been designed
and implemented according to open interfaces. Interfaces are considered open
if their specifications are readily and non-discriminatorily available to all
suppliers, service providers, and users, and are revised only with timely notice
and public process.
Responses:
• Responding Organisations shall acknowledge requirements for the
standards compliance and conformance as specified in this CRFP and
the Smart School Information Technology Policy and Standards
document.
• Responding Organisations shall state the standards they propose to use
for the following areas specified in the Smart School Information
Technology Policy and Standards document, as they apply:
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
Devices
User services
Logic services
Data services
Communication
Inter-process communication
Application development
Systems management
• Responding Organisations shall also list the standards they propose to
use for the areas specified in the document, Smart School Information
Technology Policy and Standards and this CRFP.
• Responding Organisations shall state if and how elements of their
proposed solutions comply with the Open Systems requirements
specified above, and, if not, justify why they have not seen the need to
comply.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
4.4 Integration Requirements
Responding Organisations shall describe in detail all the access and integration
mechanisms supported by the proposed solutions. The mechanisms described
shall address the possible implementation scenarios of centralised or
distributed service tiers. Where multiple options are available for a particular
mechanism, Responding Organisations shall indicate the recommended and
preferred option, and justify that choice.
Responding Organisations shall also address the following areas in their
statement of the applicable standards that each mechanism is based upon:
• The interconnection of hardware platforms (computers, network devices,
audio-visual equipment).
• The transmission of information between two or more applications.
• The retrieval, insertion or update of information from or into an external
data repository or database by any application.
• The sharing of information between two or more applications.
• The invocation of one application by another application in both
centralised and distributed service implementations.
• The communication between different service layers of an n-tier
application.
• The management of network devices and computer platforms.
Responses:
• Responding Organisations shall acknowledge requirements specified in
this section.
• Responding Organisations shall state in detail their responses to all
requirements stated in this section.
4.5 Security Considerations
A comprehensive security strategy is one key element that spans the Ministry
of Education, schools, and all other constituencies requiring system access.
This section outlines broad security requirements that shall be addressed by
Responding Organisations’ proposed solutions.
All proposed applications and systems shall include security features that shall
• Ensure confidentiality of data and communications.
• Build in authorisation levels and controls so only appropriate people and
systems shall access other systems, networks, applications, data, services
and system resources.
• Ensure original data and communications are not compromised, lost or
tampered with.
• Prove data origin from individuals and systems.
• Prevent transaction denial.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
• Provide audit trails and log security events, including different types of
access attempts.
The Smart Schools security infrastructure requirements for enterprise-level,
multi-vendor, multi-platform, distributed security are specified in the
document, CRFP for Smart School Systems Integration.
Responses:
• Responding Organisations shall describe security features of their
solutions that support the requirements specified in this document and
the relevant standards in the document, Smart School Information
Technology Policy and Standards.
• Responding Organisations shall specify how their solutions integrate
into security infrastructures by:
− Describing in detail the available options to integrate into security
infrastructures for the First Stage of the CRFP process.
− Describing in detail the specific options required to integrate all
solutions into the framework of its proposed security architecture
for the Second Stage of the CRFP process.
4.6 Platform Support
The Responding Organisation shall describe in detail all the hardware
platforms and operating environments that their proposed solutions run on.
Details to be furnished shall include the specific revisions of each software
component proposed and the corresponding models of hardware platform and
revision of operating system that the said component can operate on.
Responses:
• Responding Organisations shall acknowledge requirements specified in
this section.
• Responding Organisations shall list all proposed software component
revisions together with all the specific hardware platforms and
operating system revisions that support them.
4.7 System Sizing and Capacity Planning
To assist Responding Organisations size the equipment and applications
required for the first phase of 90 Smart Schools, information on the school
population and required levels of technology to be deployed in these schools,
are described in the document, The Malaysian Smart School Implementation Plan.
It is the Responding Organisation’s responsibility to make all examinations
necessary in order to ascertain all factors, inquiries and questions that might
affect the Responding Organisation’s specific proposals. The Responding
Organisation shall ascertain the specific detailed information it requires to
make informed and accurate design, configuration and sizing decisions.
Responding Organisations shall propose strategies to proactively manage the
growth of data repositories and databases, systems and other technology
infrastructure, such as network capacity. Responding Organisations shall
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
propose capacity planning mechanisms to meet these growth management
requirements.
Data management and retention issues involve, but are not limited to, the
following areas:
• Teaching-learning materials
• Persistent student related information that shall be retained throughout the
students’ enrolment in a school.
• Students’ portfolio material.
• School leavers’ information that may be referred to in later years.
Examples include students requiring transcripts of their school records and
testimonials.
• Staff related information.
• Financial information.
• Communications
Responses:
• In the Second Stage of the CRFP process, Unbound Consortium shall
describe in detail the specific system configurations required for all
proposed components, together with the assumptions upon which they
are based.
• In the Second Stage of the CRFP process, Unbound Consortium shall
describe in detail the remaining growth capacity of the specific solutions
proposed.
• Responding Organisations shall propose specific growth management
strategies and solutions to meet the immediate and long-term
requirements of the Smart Schools.
4.8 Multiple Language Support
The language support requirements for each application shall be specified in
the relevant CRFP document. In general, language support provisions in the
solutions proposed shall address user input and output methods. Examples of
input methods include keyboard and speech-to-text. Examples of output
methods include screen and printer output.
Responses:
• Responding organisations shall state the multiple language support
capabilities of their proposed solutions.
4.9 Risk Assessment Statement
In the Second Stage of the CRFP process, Responding Organisations shall
include in their proposals a Risk Assessment Statement that describes the
potential impact on Smart School operations if a component or system fails.
The Risk Assessment Statement shall describe at least the following:
• Points of potential failure in the system, including hardware and software,
and telecommunications equipment
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
• Software integration points defining all software interfaces between key
applications, the operating system, programmable hardware, and I/O
(Input/Output) subsystems.
• Which services would become unavailable and who would be impacted
when all known system or subsystem outages occur.
• Which services would become unavailable and who would be impacted by
outages of all known telecommunications systems.
Responses:
• Responding Organisations shall use the following format in supplying a
Risk Assessment Statement:
Components and Systems in
Smart School
Impact on Smart School
Operations from
Component/System Failure
4.10 Technical Service Level
The Technical Service Level requirements are outlined in the document, CRFP
for Smart School Systems Integration. In brief, these requirements include
information about
• Technical specifications of all deliverables
• Communication mechanisms between parties
• Implementation plans, schedules and milestones
• Conditions for service delivery
• Measures of user satisfaction
• Performance milestones
• Process and people management
• Quality, accuracy and reliability measures
• Maintenance plans
• Problem-resolution mechanisms, processes and responses
• Risks and associated credits or penalties
• Resources required (technologies, facilities and people)
Responses:
• Responding Organisations shall provide detailed plans for meeting the
project’s Technical Service Level requirements for the Second Stage of
the CRFP evaluation process.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
5 Implementation Requirements
5.1 Project Management Methodology
The Responding Organisation shall describe the project management
methodology to be undertaken in the pilot project in order to meet the
schedule as well as the quality requirements of the project. In addition to the
systems design and implementation activities, the project management
methodology shall include the tasks and activities involved in the other areas
of the implementation requirements namely:
• Project Team Structure
• Risk Management Plan
• Quality Management
• Change Management Plan
• Training Plan
• Acceptance Testing Plan
• Transfer of Technology Plan
In addition, this section shall also describe the following:
• Implementation Schedule
• Key Milestone Dates
• Key Deliverables
• Workday and Staffing Estimates
Response:
• Responding Organisations shall describe their project management
methodology, including their proposed implementation schedule, use of
resources, milestones and deliverables.
5.2 Project Team Structure
In order to meet the expectations of the pilot project, a sound project
organisation structure shall be established. The Responding Organisation shall
propose the project team structure and the relationships between the various
functions of the structure. Where applicable, the Responding Organisation
shall describe the evolution of project team structure as the project progresses.
In addition, the Responding Organisation shall identify the resources, their
roles and responsibilities and skills needed to execute the activities and tasks
identified. Furthermore, the project organisation shall support the transfer of
technology (See Section 5.8) and change management (See Section 5.5) to be
undertaken in the project.
Response:
• Responding Organisations shall describe their project organisation
structure, including resources, roles and responsibilities.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
5.3 Risk Management Plan
The Responding Organisation shall provide a risk management strategy which
shall be used in this pilot project describing the approach for risk identification,
analysis, management and mitigation. Following that, the Responding
Organisation shall demonstrate its understanding of the risks involved by
identifying the risks that constitute a barrier, both potential and real, to the
accomplishment of the Smart Schools or the pilot project goals and objectives.
5.4 Quality Management
In this section the Responding Organisation is to describe the quality assurance
plan describing the procedures, methodologies and policies that the
organisation shall adopt in order to ensure the quality of the deliverables and
services to be provided in the execution of the pilot project.
5.5 Change Management Plan
With the implementation of the pilot project, it is critical that the Responding
Organisation manage the changes the people involved in the operations shall
be experiencing. Of major impact are business processes, technology and
organisation. In this section, the Responding Organisation shall describe the
approach and outcomes that the it shall use to help the end users manage this
critical change effort.
5.6 Training Plan
The success of the pilot project lies not only in the technical and functional
capability, but also in the ability of the user population to effectively use the
system and operate in the new environment. In this section, the Responding
Organisation shall propose a training program that describes the method for
training for the end users. Specific training requirements are detailed in Section
6.
5.7 Acceptance Testing Plan
In this section, the Responding Organisation shall describe the test plan that
will address the various aspects of testing to be implemented in this pilot
project. The test plan shall describe the high level testing strategy for the pilot
project, the approach and to be adopted, the test environment to be set up, the
resources required for the testing as well as the implementation schedule for
the tests.
5.8 Technology Transfer Plan
In this section the Responding Organisation shall describe the technology
transfer program to be implemented in this pilot project. The description of the
approach, process and the methods for ensuring technology is being
transferred to government and local companies (either in the consortium or the
agency itself) during the pilot project shall be described.
The Responding Organisation shall show understanding that the Smart School
project is a long-term one and shall outline their future plans regarding
research, development and technology transfer. Furthermore, bearing in mind
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
that the Smart School project is an MSC flagship application, the Responding
Organisation shall outline any present and planned future involvement with
the MSC, and how they see this involvement with respect to their technology
transfer plan.
The Responding Organisation shall outline how it plans to implement (if
present):
• Details as to how knowledge is to be conveyed,
• The level of co-operation with local companies, universities and
government agencies,
• The level and details of research and development to be undertaken
• Training programs
• Joint development efforts.
5.9 Implementation Strategies
The Responding Organisation shall address how they plan to implement their
solution, given that schools have been designated various levels of technology.
In particular, they shall outline:
• How they plan to stage the implementation to all the schools
• How their solution differs over the different levels of technology
• Implications on existing solutions and processes in a school as a it moves
from one technology level to a higher level
• Their change plan as a school migrates through the different levels of
technology, bearing in mind the rapid change of the technology itself. This
plan shall be linked to their R&D program (if any).
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
6 Training Programs
6.1 Overview
Human resource development represents a key element in the implementation
of Smart Schools. A comprehensive training strategy covering both short-term
and long-term measures need to be developed to ensure the continuing
professional growth and development of Principals/Headmasters and the
school administrative staff.
6.2 Training strategy
Training for Smart School management teams consists of two phases. The
Ministry of Education shall provide the first phase of training which
introduces all school administrators and management teams to the goals and
visions of Smart School. This training, based on the cascade model, shall be
provided to Management Trainers that comprises officers of the National
Institute of Educational Management and Leadership (Institut Aminuddin
Baki), and other officers identified by the Ministry. In cascade fashion, highly
skilled Management Trainers teach others to train, who in turn train the other
members of the Smart School administrative teams. This programme focuses
on the training and development of generic skills required of Smart School
Principals and Headmasters, which are:
1. Facilitation Skills
2. Motivational Skills
3. Values Development Skills
4. Correct Usage of Language
5. Critical and Creative Thinking Skills
6. Basic Information Technology Skills
7. Assessment and Evaluation Skills
8. Study Skills
The second phase of training shall be conducted by the successful Responding
Organisation. The focus of this phase is on:
1. Utilisation of Training Modules prepared for the SSMS
2. Development of a Training Programme for fifty (50) Management Trainers
which involves training the trainers and supervising them in at least one
session of their training of Smart School management teams.
6.3 Training Facilities
The Responding Organisation shall ensure that the training facilities are
compatible with and highly similar to the facilities that the school management
team will use in their actual administrative tasks.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
6.4 Training schedule
The Training schedule should meet the requirements of the overall
implementation schedule outlined for Smart Schools in the document, The
Malaysian Smart School Implementation Plan. The Responding Organisation shall
propose a timeline to train the Management Team.
6.5 Training venue
The Responding Organisation shall propose training venues subject to the
approval of the Ministry of Education.
6.6 Training Modules
The Responding Organisations shall submit detailed Training Modules for
inducting and training Smart School management team into the use of the
SSMS. These Training Modules, which shall be used by the Management
Trainers, shall possess the following features:
6.6.1 Training Design
The Training Module shall provide clear instructions for use according to
a variety of andragogical strategies and processes. Adequate
commentaries shall be included to ensure that the training design is
comprehensible and user friendly.
6.6.2 Resources and References
The Training Modules shall provide the required and appropriate
resources that can be duplicated in adequate numbers without bringing
upon the Government the need to submit to copyright requirements.
These Modules shall also provide a variety of references and other
materials, including relevant web-sites for the further reference of trainers
and Smart School management team.
6.6.3 Time of Delivery
The Responding Organisation shall indicate the time of delivery of the
Modules.
6.6.4 Training Curriculum
The Training Modules shall give comprehensive coverage of the utilisation
and management of the SSMS software.
6.6.5 Format of Training Modules
The Training Modules shall encompass guidelines for trainers with
clearly stated objectives, instructional procedures and expected outcomes
in an agreed format that would be comprehensible and user friendly, with
provision for trainer creativity. These modules shall also be accompanied
by commentaries on the management practices and strategies as required
by the SSMS software in meeting the goals of Smart School Management.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
6.7 Monitoring and Evaluation
The Trainer Training Programme shall have an in-built evaluation and
monitoring system to evaluate the trained individual’s understandings and
ability to apply the acquired knowledge and skills, meeting the objectives of
the training program. The Responding Organisation shall also propose a plan
to monitor the implementation of the training programme and to evaluate its
success.
6.8 Follow –up programme
The Responding Organisation shall provide a follow-up staff development
programme, which is responsive to changing needs without unreasonable
demands on the Government, financial or otherwise. The Government
however, shall not be obligated in anyway as a result of acceptance of the
proposed programmed.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
7 Maintenance and Support Services
The Government places strong emphasis on adequate and readily available maintenance
and support services from Responding Organisations to maintain the installed systems and
applications in good working order and state of availability.
These maintenance and support services are deemed by the Government to be essential
services in the delivery of a complete SSMS solution. Hence, Responding Organisations shall
meet these requirements in order to merit favourable consideration of their offers.
7.1 Overview
Responding Organisations shall assist users and administrators of the installed
solutions in exploiting, to the fullest possible extent, the capabilities and
features of the SSMS.
Preference shall be given to Responding Organisations that are able to provide
a high level of maintenance and support services including personnel training,
technical advice as well as assistance in operating and maintaining the systems
and applications effectively and efficiently.
Responding Organisations shall describe in detail their proposed approach to
providing maintenance and support services to all 90 Smart Schools, as well as
all other schools in subsequent implementation phases.
Responding Organisations shall state cost information, for any and all
chargeable services, applications and systems, as they relate to the
requirements of this section, in the financial section of its proposal.
Responding Organisations are also reminded of the helpdesk, user support
and maintenance requirements specified in the document, CRFP for Smart
School Systems Integration. In the Second Stage of the CRFP evaluation process,
Responding Organisations shall integrate their individual support and
maintenance mechanisms into this framework.
The Government reserves the right, at its own cost, to nominate a third party to
perform preventive and remedial maintenance, as deemed beneficial to the
Government.
The requirements specified in this document shall constitute minimum
requirements.
7.2 Organisational
Responding Organisations’ proposals shall state the following information:
• Organisational information on their global support structure for this
project.
• Organisational information on their Malaysian-based support structure for
this project.
• The extent of their support and maintenance facilities throughout
Malaysia.
• Their approaches to respond to requests for support, and the
corresponding response times, for the various categories of schools and
problems.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
• Their approaches to collaborate with the Government’s support staff to
jointly ensure the applications and systems are in good working order at
all times.
• The number of sufficiently trained, skilled and experienced support and
maintenance personnel to be employed in support of this project, where
they shall be located, and profiles of their expertise and experience.
7.3 Coverage
The Responding Organisation shall state
• The period during which the maintenance and repair services offered will
be valid (the Guarantee Period).
• A list of all services that the Responding Organisations deem to be
important for the optimal support and operation of the SSMS.
• Details of maintenance and support services offered, and any charges (if
present) that come into force, after the expiry of the Guarantee Period.
• Policies regarding the provision of urgently required replacement parts,
software fixes, and personnel having specialist technical expertise, that are
not available in Malaysia.
• Details of any applicable software licensing fees.
• The cost (if present) of replacing items, as part of services rendered, both
during and after the Guarantee Period, and the compensation provided if
the items are unavailable.
• The maximum delay to be encountered by the Government when waiting
for the provision of replacement hardware and software items.
7.4 Services
Responding Organisations shall provide information on their service offerings.
Areas of coverage include the following:
7.4.1 Remedial Maintenance Service
On-call maintenance service to be rendered by the Responding
Organisation at the request of Smart School to diagnose and correct any
malfunction
7.4.2 Preventive Maintenance Service
Maintenance services other than the above-mentioned required by Smart
School to maintain the systems and applications in good working order.
7.4.3 Solution Support and Maintenance
The Responding Organisation shall describe how they plan to:
• Ensure the continued usability of the SSMS applications as the platform
technologies evolve over time.
• Undertake to improve, update, maintain and provide any new releases.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
• Perform revisions on any or all systems and applications supplied to meet
new or changed requirements.
• Provide update materials or update patches for all software supplied, and
assistance on how to utilise them.
• Inform the Government should any errors or malfunctions be detected and
advise the Government how to solve the problems caused by such errors
or malfunctions and/or perform actual corrections or bypasses or
undertake all reasonable steps to remedy all or any errors and
malfunctions in the software.
• Design and run system tests and procedures in order to verify and ensure
that the applications and systems are operating correctly and optimally.
• Provide free maintenance, software upgrades and spare parts during the
Guarantee Period
• Supply spare parts or software fixes for maintenance services as required
by Smart School within a specified time frame
• Supply complete sets of system and user documentation as the
corresponding systems and applications evolve.
• Provide technical advice with respect to the operation and maintenance,
relocation of the system to new sites and other technical issues.
Response :
7.4.4 Miscellaneous
Responding Organisations shall describe:
• Their approach to keep records of all maintenance and repair, including
the commencement, procedure and completion of all maintenance and
repair work, the details of the faults (if any) and how they plan to clearly
distinguish faults detected during preventative maintenance from those
detected outside those periods.
• The extent to which the records will be available for (on-demand)
inspection by the Government.
• The process utilised to provide a receipt of work done, which may include
the time-period of the work, and how this receipt may be acknowledged
by the Government for purposes of payment and as a measure of service
performance.
• Responding Organisations shall acknowledge requirements stated in this section
• Responding Organisations shall state in detail their responses to all requirements
stated in this section
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
8 Performance Requirements
Responding Organisations are expected to develop solutions that innovate and demonstrate
their capability to meet performance requirements. Responding Organisations shall clearly
describe the performance specifications for their proposed solutions bearing in mind the
different categories of users and their multiple modes of access over LAN’s and WAN’s
using various access devices. Interactive applications shall provide acceptable user response
and other processing functions shall complete in acceptable time frames as shall be mutually
agreed upon by the Government and the Responding Organisations. High quality service
performance, and consistency of performance, are expected. Solution performance levels
should be maintained in the face of anticipated growth in the number of users and the
amount of data stored. Responding Organisations shall state any assumptions made for the
solutions proposed in the context of their target Smart School environments.
Response :
• Responding Organisations shall acknowledge requirements stated in this section
• Responding Organisations shall state in detail their responses to all requirements
stated in this section.
• Responding Organisations shall state the issues, if any, for meeting performance
requirements and propose how they plan to overcome each in detail.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
9 External Linkages
9.1 External Databases
Smart School management requires communication with various external
entities in the Ministry of Education as well as other government agencies.
Various databases exist within the Ministry of Education, some of which shall
require linkages with the SSMS.
Details about these databases, and their integration requirements, shall be
furnished in Second Stage of the CRFP evaluation process. Responding
Organisations are reminded of the integration requirements stated in Section
4.
Response :
• Responding Organisations shall acknowledge requirements stated in
this section
• In the Second Stage, Unbound Consortia shall state in detail their
specific solutions to integrate with specified external databases.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
10 Financial Requirements
This portion of the CRFP is designed to allow the Responding Organisation to propose
innovative alternative financing solutions that would benefit both the Government and the
Responding Organisation. These might draw on new approaches to price structuring,
payment schemes and business models. The Ministry of Education is open to the adoption
of value-added services that a Responding Organisation could choose to go into as added
revenue streams, provided that the services support the objectives of the Smart School
project.
10.1 Business Model Requirements
Ensuring the success of the Smart Schools project will require more than
developing quality applications for teaching learning, school management, and
assessment. In fact, delivering the project’s full benefit will require robust
support mechanisms and appropriate business models.
For the pilot project to be a success, the business model should meet the
following requirements:
• Low Expenses. The government will incur minimal charges, while the
Responding Organisation is providing the essential services. However,
charges to the users are also expected to be nominal.
• Smooth and Timely rollout. The pilot project implementation plan should
provide for a smooth and timely rollout.
• Equal Access. The solutions should encourage the development of an
environment where relevant information will be made equally accessible to
all appropriate parties.
• High Usage. The solutions should foster high usage and widespread
adoption by the Ministry of Education and other relevant parties.
10.2 Business Model
The traditional business model for service delivery assumes the Government
plays a singular role as sole buyer of services. However, there are additional
roles for Responding Organisations and Stakeholders that would allow market
forces to drive improvements in the delivery of services to the public.
Although in many cases the Responding Organisation shall use the Build-
Operate-Transfer (BOT) mechanism in delivering the solutions, they should
also consider other options, such as Build-Operate-Own (BOO).
Figure 3 provides a conceptual business model to illustrate the funding and
revenue options available to the Responding Organisation. The Responding
Organisation should look into developing their own business model using the
model below only in so far as it is relevant.
10.2.1 Government
In this model, Government is to award an outsourcing contract to a
consortium (or consortia) and pay them substantial fees. Government will
formulate and regulate policies and guidelines for the project and monitor
the success and targeted goals. It will also establish appropriate bodies to
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
ensure the effectiveness and quality of the programs and services. All
services commissioned will revert to the Government, subject to the
agreed rights paid for. Hardware installed will depend on the conditions
agreed to in the contract.
10.2.2 Responding Organisation
The successful Responding Organisation, through its lead vendor shall be
responsible for delivering the entire range of services contracted by the
Ministry of Education.
10.2.3 Users
Responding Organisations are also free to propose options where users
pay a nominal fee for services additional to what is usually provided by
the government. Such an option will encourage the service provider to
develop novel and marketable services to increase its revenue. Users shall
generally comprise of:
• Users within schools
• Users within communities.
Funding
Funding
User
Students,
teachers, and
administrators
in Smart
Schools and in
the
communities
Service
Responding
organisations /
Consortia /
Consortium
Award outsourcing
contract and
pay fees
Government
(Ministry Of
Education)
Stakeholders
Parents
Companies
Libraries
Corporations
etc
• Pays MOE nominal fees for
Smart School education
• Pays the vendor for
additional personalised
information and education
services from home
• Pays the consortium for
other additional features and
services developed by
consortium
• Develops the teaching/learning, school
management,and assessment based on
service contract with the MOE
• Augments the education infostructure
and infrastructure with additional
features and services for additional
revenue
• Builds,(design, develop and install),
Operates (administrate, deploy, run, and
maintain),
and Transfers (BOT) to MOE following
completion
• Award
outsourcing
contract and pays
service provider
• Bear moderate
risks
• Play role of
patron to schools
• Community
based
involvement
• Increases their
profile
• Funds upfront investment
• Provides additional education service to
users
• Bears moderate risk
• Motivates creativity
Figure 3: Funding model between Ministry of Education, Responding Organisations, Users and
Stakeholders
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
Financial modelling assumptions
The Responding Organisation should provide relevant information on:
• Alternative Pricing Models. The Responding Organisation should
consider alternatives beyond outright purchase (for example, leasing).
The Responding Organisation should also include in the pricing
model options for domestic (within Malaysia) and international
ownership, (outside Malaysia) of intellectual property rights (e.g.,
copyright, publishing, marketing) and the development of derivative
products.
• Costing Model. The Responding Organisation should indicate what
the costing model would be like. For example, they should indicate
how much the services will cost (if anything) the government or the
users. Since the Malaysian Government is seeking a minimal capital
outlay, the Responding Organisation should also propose a business
model which provides the net present value of the cash outflow of
government.
• Payback Model. The Responding Organisation should outline the
payback model, i.e. the mechanism and time period for the
Responding Organisation to begin charging for its services.
• Projected Cash Flow.
The Responding Organisation should indicate how they intend to
utilise the cash flow when implementing the pilot project.
10.2.4 Quantities required
Please refer to the section on Smart School Technology Level Distribution
in The Malaysian Smart School Implementation Plan.
10.2.5 Financial constraints
The Responding Organisation should do their best to provide a business
model for the pilot project that considers:
• limitation of funds and required skills from the Ministry of Education
in any respective field and discipline.
• that users may be charged nominally for the additional services
provided.
These considerations should ideally be made without compromise to the
quality and quantity of the required services.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
11 Capabilities of the Responding Organisation
The Responding Organisation shall provide the technical and financial capabilities of the
Organisation:
11.1 Project Management Capabilities
The Responding Organisation shall be required to provide information in
respect of the following major areas of project management:
11.1.1 Project Management Methodology
The Responding Organisation shall describe the background of the
proposed project management methodology which is used to manage
and implement solutions.
11.1.2 Project Management Experience
The Responding Organisation shall describe the relevant previous project
management experience, or the relevant previous project management
experience of nominated project managers who shall be involved in the
management and implementation team.
11.2 Training Capabilities
The Responding Organisation shall provide information on its organisation’s
experience on the planning and implementation of training programmes for
both users and technicians.
11.3 Support Capabilities
The Responding Organisation shall describe the level of support provided by
its Organisation. In the response, the Responding Organisation shall address
the following issues:
• Operation hours for the support help desk;
• Problem reporting process;
• Problem escalation process;
• Average problem resolution time;
• Percentage of problems unresolved.
11.4 Financial Capabilities
The Responding Organisation shall describe its financial position. If the
Responding Organisation has traded over the past two years, then the financial
statements shall be included in the response. If the Responding Organisation
is a newly established consortium, then the members of the consortium shall
present their financial statements for the past two years, if their stocks have
been publicly traded over that period.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
Additionally the Responding Organisation shall provide information on any
major projects which have been awarded to its Organisation, if this would be
beneficial in supporting its proposal.
11.5 Technical Capabilities
The Responding Organisation shall provide information on its technical
capabilities, and should include the following:
11.5.1 Technical leadership
Where the Responding Organisation is recognised as a leader in
particular technologies or services, the Responding Organisation shall
describe its area(s) of expertise. Where a consortium exists, all the areas
of technical leadership shall be described in a single consolidated reply.
11.5.2 Relevant reference sites
Relevant reference sites describing the installed solution, scope of the
work, number of project team members and contact information shall be
provided by the Responding Organisation to enable the evaluation of the
experience of the Responding Organisation in completing similar projects.
When an organisation has no experience, but its key members have
suitable experience, then the Responding Organisation shall provide
details of the individual team members’ experience with respect to the
proposed concept solution.
11.5.3 Other unique capabilities as applicable
The Responding Organisation shall provide any additional information
that may assist its response.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
12 Instructions to Responding Organisations
The Government of Malaysia invites proposals to this CRFP.
12.1 Communication
Enquiries regarding development of the proposals shall be submitted in
writing by mail, fax or e-mail to:
SMART SCHOOL CRFP SECRETARIAT
Educational Technology Division
Ministry of Education
Pesiaran Bukit Kiara
50604 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Fax: +(603) 252 3764
Phone: +(603) 252 3760
E-mail: smartsc@eprd.kpm.my
Website: http://eprd.kpm.my/
Written responses shall be compiled and answered appropriately on the
project website and during the briefing session for Responding Organisations.
No questions, written or verbal, shall be entertained after 1245 hours,
Malaysian Time, 23 August 1997.
12.1.1 Responding Organisations’ Briefing
There shall be a Responding Organisations’ Briefing on 25 August 1997 to
address questions raised by Responding Organisations. Responding
Organisations who wish to participate in this forum shall indicate their
interest to the Smart School CRFP Secretariat no later than two weeks
before the date of the forum, that is by 11 August 1997.
12.2 Submission of Proposal
12.2.1 Time and Date
Proposals shall only be submitted during office hours after 25 September
1997, but not later than 1200 hours Malaysian Time, 30 September 1997.
Proposals submitted after this time shall not be considered.
Office hours are:
Monday-Thursday 0800 – 1245, 1400 – 1615
Friday 0800 – 1215, 1445 – 1615
Saturday 0800 – 1245
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
12.2.2 Mode of Delivery and Address
Proposals, together with the Letter of Undertaking as set out in Appendix
1 shall be delivered by hand to:
SMART SCHOOL CRFP SECRETARIAT
Educational Technology Division
Ministry of Education
Pesiaran Bukit Kiara
50604 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
12.2.3 Marking
Proposals shall be sealed and clearly marked:
“Proposal – Smart School Management System Pilot”
12.2.4 Number of Copies and Separation of Sections of Proposals
The Responding Organisation shall deliver five copies of each proposal
which shall be physically separated, bound, sealed and labelled as:
• Technical and business proposal
• Financial proposal
(Proposals shall also include a cost-estimate for the overall project
along with detailed cost-estimates for various discrete parts of the
project.)
The Appendices and Attachments may be submitted as a separate section.
12.2.5 Deposit
The Responding Organisation shall submit a deposit together with the
proposal.
The deposit shall be in the form of a Bank Guarantee issued by a bank
operating in Malaysia. The Bank Guarantee shall be in the form as set out
in Appendix 2. The quantum of the deposit is as specified in Appendix 3.
The Bank Guarantee shall remain until 1 January 1999 or until the
Responding Organisation is notified in writing that its proposal is
unsuccessful.
The Deposit shall be forfeited by the Government in the event the
Responding Organisation:
• Revokes its offer prior to being informed of the result of the CRFP
evaluation
• Fails to honour its obligations under this CRFP
• Refuses to enter into a contract with the Government on being
informed of the award of contract.
The Government shall not be liable for any interest or any other claim
arising from this deposit.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
12.2.6 Receipt of Proposal
An acknowledgement signed by the authorised representative of the
Smart School CRFP Secretariat shall be evidence of receipt of the
submission of the proposal.
12.2.7 Amendments
No amendment shall be made to the proposal after its submission.
12.2.8 Validity of the Proposal
All proposals and prices shall remain valid for a minimum period of
twelve (12) months from the closing date. However, the Responding
Organisation is encouraged to state a longer period of validity for the
proposal.
12.2.9 Advertisement
No advertisement or press release regarding this proposal shall be
published in any newspaper, magazine or any other form of media,
electronic or otherwise, without prior written approval from the
Government.
12.2.10 Short-list
A Responding Organisation that has been short-listed will be notified in
writing by the Government on or before 1 December 1997.
12.2.11 Letter of Intent
A Responding Organisation that has been short-listed will be notified by
the issue of a Letter of Intent by the Government requiring short-listed
organisations to form Unbound Consortia with other short-listed
organisations and to prepare an integrated proposal.
However, this Letter of Intent is subject to the successful conclusion of the
Unbound Consortium. In the event the short-listed organisations fail to
form the Unbound Consortia, the Government shall not be liable for any
expenses, liabilities, loss, claims, damages or proceedings whatsoever
arising from this Letter of Intent.
12.2.12 Performance Bond
The successful Responding Organisation shall be required to deposit in
the form of a Bank Guarantee a Performance Bond upon the execution of
the contract, a sum equivalent to five percent (5%) of the whole contract
value. This Bank Guarantee shall be issued by a bank operating in
Malaysia and shall be kept valid from the date of issue until eighteen (18)
months after all contractual obligations have been fulfilled. The
Performance Bond shall be forfeited by the Government if the
Responding Organisation breaches any of its obligations under the
contract.
The Bank Guarantee for Performance Bond shall be substantially in the
form as set out in Appendix 4.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
12.2.13 Letter of Understanding
The Responding Organisation shall sign a Letter of Understanding as set
out in Appendix 1.
12.2.14 Language
All proposals including appendices shall be in English; or if not English,
shall include an English translation as an attachment.
12.2.15 Currency
All currency in the proposal shall be quoted in Ringgit Malaysia (RM).
12.2.16 Contents
Proposals shall contain specific and detailed replies to all responses,
requirements, terms and conditions set out in the CRFP.
These responses shall be in the order in which the sections and
paragraphs appear in this CRFP and make reference the section and
paragraph numbers in this document.
12.3 Proposal Process
The process for submission and evaluation of proposals is designed to foster
development of a web of participating companies. Thus, the process aims to
• Provide adequate time for Responding Organisations to understand
the Concept RFP processes
• Develop responses that can be evaluated sufficiently to yield a
shortlist of pre-qualified organisations
• Allow Responding Organisations to form Unbound Consortia to
develop comprehensive, innovative and integrated solutions.
12.3.1 Communication during the First Stage
After the issuing of the Concept RFP, Responding Organisations shall
have the opportunity to submit questions to the Smart School CRFP
Secretariat to clarify details relating to the CRFP or to gain information
necessary for formulating an attractive proposal. These questions shall be
submitted in written form. No questions shall be entertained after 1245
hours Malaysian Time, 23 August 1997.
Response:
• The Responding Organisations shall submit their queries before
1245 hours Malaysian Time, 23 August 1997.
12.3.2 First Stage: Proposal Development
The Responding Organisation shall prepare its proposal anytime between
the issue of the CRFPs and the deadline for the submission of first-stage
proposals (30 September 1997).
The Responding Organisation shall bear in mind that this is a two-stage
process and that it shall form, with other Responding Organisations,
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
Unbound Consortia in the second stage to produce a complete,
comprehensive, innovative and integrated solution. Hence, the
Responding Organisation shall also state its vision of how its particular
solution shall fit into an overall solution.
No alterations, amendments or additions to first stage proposals or new
first stage proposals shall be accepted after the deadline.
Response:
• The Responding Organisation shall bear in mind the second stage
of the CRFP process when preparing proposals.
• The Responding Organisation shall submit their first-stage
proposal before 1200 hours, Malaysian Time, 30 September 1997.
12.3.3 First Stage Evaluation of Proposals and Short-Listing
The Government will review and evaluate the submitted proposals to
develop a short-list of qualifying organisations. The successful short-listed
candidates shall then form Unbound Consortia and take part in
producing an integrated solution proposal. These comprehensive
proposals by various consortia shall again be evaluated.
The short-listed candidates from the first stage shall be announced on
1 December 1997.
Response:
• Responding Organisations that are confident of being short-listed
shall prepare in advance for the second stage of the CRFP process.
12.3.4 Second Stage: Integrated Solution Development
The short-listed candidates shall enter into Unbound Consortia from
among themselves and prepare a comprehensive integrated proposal.
These Unbound Consortia:
• Shall provide a complete integrated solution that responds to all the
requests raised in the five Smart School CRFPs.
• Shall be composed only of companies that have been short-listed in
the first stage of the proposal process and shall include at least four
separate organisations (See Figure 4), of which
• At least two responded to the CRFP for Teaching Learning
Materials, each of whom shall be responsible for at least one
entire subject.
• At least two responded to one or more of the four remaining
CRFPs (namely, Management System, Assessment System,
Technology Infrastructure and Systems Integration).
• May contain Responding Organisations that are also part of other
Unbound Consortia, i.e. a Responding Organisation may be a
member of multiple Unbound Consortia.
• May divide responsibilities among their members in ways that do not
strictly follow the CRFP(s) for which a Responding Organisation was
short-listed. For example, a Responding Organisation that first
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
qualified for the Management System CRFP, may in the Unbound
Consortia provide Systems Integration services.
• Shall organise a single point of contact to interact with the
Government. (This shall probably, but need not necessarily, be the
organisation leading the systems integration.)
• Shall recognise that while they form a single Unbound Consortium,
the Government shall sign a contract with all the Responding
Organisations that comprise the winning Unbound Consortium or
with a legally bound consortium comprising all Responding
Organisations of the winning Unbound Consortium. The Unbound
Consortium shall spell out the division of responsibilities and costing
among its members.
• Shall submit their proposal for the second-stage integrated solution
on or before 1200 hours Malaysian Time, 31 March 1998. No new
second-stage integrated proposals or alterations or additions to
submitted second-stage integrated proposals shall be accepted after
the deadline.
Response:
• Responding Organisations shall bear in mind the conditions set out
in forming their Unbound Consortia.
• The Unbound Consortia shall nominate a single point of contact
with the Government.
• The Unbound Consortia shall respond with a single complete
Teaching-Learning
Systems
Integration
Technology
Infrastructure
Assessment
Management
Science
Mathematics
English
Bahasa Melayu
At least
two that
responded
to T-L
An Unbound Consortium
of at least four distinct
organisations that comes
up with a total integrated
solution
At least
two that
responded
to one of
the rest
Figure 4: How short-listed Responding Organisations will form an Unbound Consortium
51

Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
integrated proposal, which outlines individual contributions and
costs.
• This second-stage integrated proposal shall be submitted in a
timely manner, before the deadline of 1200 hours Malaysian Time,
31 March 1998.
12.3.5 Second-Stage Evaluation and Shortlisting
The Government will review and evaluate submitted integrated proposals
and develop a short-list of consortia with whom to pursue negotiations.
The successful short-listed candidates for negotiation shall be announced
on 30 April 1998.
Response:
• Confident Unbound Consortia shall prepare for negotiations in
advance.
12.3.6 Multi-track negotiations
The Government will negotiate with the short-listed Unbound Consortia
concurrently to consider terms, scope, capabilities and performance
milestones of the proposed solutions. Confidentiality of proposals shall be
strictly maintained.
12.3.7 Final Selection
The Government shall select the winning Unbound Consortium based
upon the best and final offer.
The successful proposal and the winning Unbound Consortium shall be
announced on or before 1 July 1998. The Government shall sign a contract
with all the Responding Organisations that comprise the winning
Unbound Consortium or with the legally bound consortium that
comprise the Responding Organisations of the winning Unbound
Consortium. The terms and conditions of the contract shall be agreed
upon between the Government and all the Responding Organisations that
comprise the winning Unbound Consortium or the said legally bound
consortium as the case may be.
12.3.8 Implementation
The winning consortium shall demonstrate implementation capabilities
through a proof of concept or initial pilot implementation. The
Government shall regularly review the consortium’s performance against
both their intentions as stated in their proposal and the agreed
performance milestones for the project.
12.4 Process Timeline
• Late July 1997: CRFPs are made available.
• Late July-30 September 1997: Responding Organisations prepare
their first stage proposals.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
• 12.00 p.m. 30 September 1997: Deadline by which Responding
Organisations shall submit their proposals to be eligible for
membership in any Unbound Consortia.
• October-November 1997: Government evaluates the proposals.
• 1 December 1997: Short-listed Responding Organisations are
announced.
• December 1997 to March 1998: Short-listed Responding
Organisations form Unbound Consortia and prepare integrated
solution proposals.
• 12:00 p.m. 31 March 1998: Deadline by which the Unbound Consortia
shall submit their integrated solution proposals.
• April 1998: Government evaluates the integrated solution proposals.
• 30 April 1998: Short-listed Unbound Consortia are announced.
• May-June 1998: Multi-track negotiations and contract development
occurs.
• 1 July 1998: Second round selection is completed. The successful
proposal and the winning Unbound Consortium shall be announced.
The Government shall sign a contract with all the Responding
Organisations that comprise the winning Unbound Consortium or
with a legally bound consortium that comprise all the Responding
Organisations of the winning Unbound Consortium. The terms and
conditions of the contract shall be agreed upon between the
Government and all the Responding Organisations that comprise the
said legally bound consortium as the case may be.
12.5 Mandatory Requirements and Evaluation Criteria
12.5.1 Mandatory Requirements
Proposals shall comply with the following mandatory requirements:
i. Instructions to Responding Organisations (this chapter); and
ii.
The specific requirements and responses in this CRFP.
Proposals that do not comply with these mandatory requirements shall
be excluded from further evaluation
Evaluation Criteria
Proposals that comply with the mandatory requirements stated in section
12.5.1 will then be evaluated against the following evaluation criteria:
• Attractiveness of solution will include the proposed technical
concept, business model, funding options and approach to
implementation.
• Calibre of the Responding Organisations such as its composition,
capabilities, record of experience and the composition of the proposed
implementation team.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
• Attractiveness of the model for technology transfer, including the
level of co-operation with local companies, any special initiatives for
technology transfer and joint development efforts.
• Involvement in the MSC. Weightage and priority will be given to
companies which have gained MSC status or would qualify for MSC
status. The level of investment in the MSC will also be considered,
with emphasis on the investment in Research & Development. It is
envisaged that the successful Responding Organisation will apply
and obtain MSC status before a contract is awarded. This
requirement may be waived in the case of Responding Organisations
that do not fall within the definition of multimedia business.
Responding to specific evaluation criteria
This section requires the Responding Organisation to provide a proposal
on each of the following criteria, which are not explicitly covered in this
CRFP.
Calibre of the Responding Organisation
Response:
Proposals shall contain the following:
• Names of all participants in the Responding Organisation (if more
than one) including their scope of involvement;
• Name of lead contractor or joint venture and the relationship
between this entity and the other participants of the Responding
Organisation, if applicable;
• Experience of the Responding Organisation in similar projects,
including references;
• Examples of industry recognition, if any, for the Responding
Organisation in the areas of technological leadership, innovation
and implementation;
• Examples, if any, where the Responding Organisation has worked
together on similar projects with the same participants.
Attractiveness of the model for technology transfer
Response:
Proposals shall set out a plan for achieving the objective of technology
transfer to Malaysia. The description of the approach, process and
methods for ensuring technology is being transferred to local
companies shall be described. This includes participation of Malaysian
companies in the Responding Organisation and plans to raise the
technology skills of Malaysian workers. The Responding Organisation
is required to demonstrate its commitment to the goals and aspirations
of Malaysia and the MSC and outline its plan for knowledge and
technology transfer.
The Responding Organisation shall outline its plan to implement:
• details as to how knowledge is to be conveyed
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
• the level of co-operation with local companies, universities and
government agencies
• training programmes
• joint development efforts
Involvement in MSC
Response:
Proposals shall contain the following:
• If the Responding Organisation has:
- obtained MSC status, the Responding Organisation shall show
proof of MSC status;
- applied for MSC status, the Responding Organisation shall show
proof of submission of the MSC status application and attach a
copy of its application form;
- not applied for MSC status yet, the Responding Organisation shall
detail its eligibility for MSC status, with specific reference to the
criteria for MSC status.
- not applied for MSC status, the Responding Organisation shall
provide reasons for not applying for MSC status.
• An outline of the actual or planned involvement of the Responding
Organisation in the MSC, if any.
12.6 Rights of the Government
12.6.1 Amendments
The Government reserves the right to amend or delete any part of this
CRFP or any document forming part of this CRFP at any time without
prior notice in order to give effect to change in policy or to correct any
error, omission, ambiguity or inconsistency that may arise after the issue
of this CRFP.
12.6.2 Acceptance of Proposals
The Government does not bind itself to accept the lowest or any proposal.
12.6.3 Cost of Proposal
The Government shall not be liable for any payment or costs incurred in
the preparation and submission of the proposal in response to the CRFP.
All costs and expenses incurred by the Responding Organisation in
providing the proposal shall be borne by the Responding Organisation.
12.6.4 Responding Organisation’s Responsibilities
It is the Responding Organisation’s responsibility to understand the
CRFP, including the requirements in this CRFP and to make all
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
examinations necessary in order to ascertain all factors, enquiries and
questions which might affect the Responding Organisation’s proposal.
12.6.5 Non-liability
Whilst care is taken to ensure that the facts and information contained in
this CRFP are correct at the time it is presented, the Government hereby
makes no representation as to the accuracy or adequacy of such facts and
information contained in the CRFP. The Government shall not be held
liable for any inaccuracy or inadequacy of such facts and information.
12.6.6 Confidential Information
All information of a confidential nature whether generated in Malaysia or
overseas, shall be subject to Malaysian Laws and Regulations. Without
prejudice to the right of the Government under any law, a breach by the
Responding Organisation may entitle the Government to terminate
dealings with the organisation without prior notice to the Responding
Organisation.
12.6.7 Failure of Negotiation
It shall be agreed and understood that in the event that the negotiation
fails and a contract is not signed, there shall be no cause of action against
the Government howsoever, nor shall it be possible to pursue a cause of
action against the Government for any action howsoever arising.
12.6.8 Discrepancy of Document
In the event that there exists any discrepancy between an electronic
version of this document (or any documents printed or distributed using
an electronic version as a source) and the official printed hardcopy
distributed by the Government, addenda or corrections, then the
information in the official printed hardcopy, addenda or corrections shall
prevail.
12.6.9 Withholding Tax
The Responding Organisation is hereby informed that the Government
shall deduct tax, at the rate prescribed under the withholding tax laws of
Malaysia, from all payments for services rendered by any Responding
Organisation who signs a contract with the Government.
12.6.10 Governing Law
This CRFP and any contract executed pursuant to this CRFP shall be
governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Malaysia. The
Government of Malaysia and all Responding Organisations responding to
this CRFP and parties to any contract executed pursuant to this CRFP
shall submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Malaysian Courts.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
Appendix 1 - Responding Organisation’s Undertaking Form
To:
Secretary General
Ministry of Education
Kuala Lumpur
MALAYSIA
Responding Organisation’s Undertaking
Proposal for Smart School Management System Pilot
The undersigned (hereinafter called “the Responding Organisation”) hereby offers to
*________________ to the extent which the Government may determine in accepting the CRFP
and at such time as may be demanded by the Government.
2. The Responding Organisation hereby agrees to the forfeiture of the Deposit (forwarded
together with the proposal) to the Government in the event the Responding Organisation:
a. revokes its offer prior to his being informed of the result of this CRFP;
b. fails to honour its obligations under this proposal; or
c. refuses to enter into a contract with the Government on being informed of the award
3. The Responding Organisation further offers to lodge with the Government, if its proposal is
accepted, a sum equivalent to 5% of the Contract value in the form of a Bank Guarantee for
the said sum as security for the due fulfilment of the contract and agrees that the Bank
Guarantee shall be retained by the Government.
4. We enclose herewith the deposit in the form of a Bank Guarantee as follows:
Bank Guarantee No ________________________ Amount:___________________________
Name of Bank _________________________________________________________________
Name of Responding Organisation _________________________________________________
Address _______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Signed by for and on behalf of Responding Organisation_________________________________
Name & Designation _____________________________________________________________
* Responding Organisation is to specify the services/solutions/applications they are offered
57

Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
Appendix 2 - Bank Guarantee Deposit Form
To:
Secretary General,
Ministry of Education,
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia.
Bank Guarantee
Sir,
BANK GUARANTEE
As requested by the Responding Organisation ____________________________________________,
we hereby guarantee that the sum of RM______________ (Ringgit Malaysia
__________________________________) being the amount of Deposit required to be deposited
with the Government of Malaysia in accordance with the conditions of the CRFP for
________________________________________ shall become payable by us immediately on receipt
of notices in writing given to us by the Government or its authorised representative.
This Guarantee is effective from the date that the CRFP document is submitted by the
Responding Organisation, and shall remain in force until 1 January 1999 or until the Responding
Organisation is notified in writing that its proposal is unsuccessful.
Signed _________________________
For and/or behalf
of__________________
Name of Bank___________________
Address________________________
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
Bank Guarantee No ________________________ Amount:___________________________
Name of Bank _________________________________________________________________
Name of Responding Organisation _________________________________________________
Address _______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Signed by for and on behalf of Responding Organisation_________________________________
Name & Designation _____________________________________________________________
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
Appendix 3 - Quantum of Deposit for Responding Organisations
1. For International Companies
Estimated Cost of the CRFP solution Amount of Deposit
(i) Not exceeding RM 5 million RM 62, 500.00
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
More than RM 5 million but
not exceeding RM 10 million
More than RM 10 million
not exceeding RM 20 million
More than RM 20 million but
not exceeding RM 30 million
RM 187,500.00
RM 375,000.00
RM 625,000.00
(v) More than RM 30 million RM 1 million
2. For local companies not registered with the Ministry of Finance, Malaysia
These companies are required to submit a deposit of RM 10,000.00
3. For companies registered with the Ministry of Finance, Malaysia
All companies registered with the Ministry of Finance are exempted from paying a deposit.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
Appendix 4 - Bank Guarantee Form for Performance Bond
Bank Guarantee Form for Performance Bond
THIS AGREEMENT is made the ________ day of ____________________ 19__ BETWEEN
_______________________________ (insert name of Bank) of _______________________________
(insert principal address of business of Bank) (hereinafter called the “Guarantor”) of the one Part
and the Government of Malaysia (hereinafter called the “Government”) of the other Part.
WHEREAS
In consideration of the Government allowing _____________________ (hereinafter referred to as
the “Contractor”) to supply and deliver/provide articles/services to the Government
__________________ (hereinafter called the “Articles/Services”) for a contract sum of Ringgit
____________________________ (state the amount in words) (RM __________________), we, the
Guarantor at the request of the Contractor irrevocably undertake a guarantee to the Government
to guarantee the due performance of the Contract in the manner hereinafter appearing.
Now the Guarantor hereby agrees with the Government as follows:
1. On the Government’s first written demand, the Guarantor shall forthwith pay to the
Government the amount specified in such demand notwithstanding any dispute or protest
by the Contractor or Guarantor or by any other third party and without proof or conditions.
Provided always that the total of all demands so made shall not exceed the sum of Ringgit
_________________________ (state the amount in words) (RM____________) and the total
amount recoverable against the Guarantor under this Agreement shall not exceed the said
sum.
2. The Government reserves the right to make any partial demand if it so desires and the total
of all such partial demands so made shall not exceed the sum of
Ringgit________________________ (state the amount in words) (RM______) and the liability
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
of the Guarantor to pay the Government the aforesaid shall correspondingly be reduced
proportionately to any payment of partial demand having been made by the Guarantor.
3. The Guarantor shall not be discharged or released from this Guarantee by any arrangement
between the Contractor and the Government with or without the consent of the Guarantor or
by any alteration in the obligation undertaken by the Contractor or by any forbearance,
whether as to payment, time, performance or otherwise.
4. The Guarantee given by the Guarantor is a continuing guarantee. This Agreement shall be
irrevocable and shall initially remain in force and effect until ________________ (referred to
as the “Expiry Date”). The Guarantor shall upon the request of the Government extend this
guarantee for a further period of _____________ (state the period) until ____________ in
which case, the maximum aggregate amount that the Government shall be entitled to shall
not exceed the said um of Ringgit_________________________________ (state the amount in
words) (RM _________________).
5. All obligations and liabilities of the Guarantor under this Agreement shall cease upon the
determination of this Agreement on the date or such extended date as specified in paragraph
4 above as the case may be save to the extent that the Government shall previously have
called upon the Guarantor in writing to pay specified moneys payable under the Contract
then remaining outstanding.
6. ALL CLAIMS, IF ANY, IN RESPECT OF THIS GUARANTEE SHALL BE RECEIVED BY THE
BANK DURING THE VALIDITY PERIOD OF THIS GUARANTEE OR WITHIN FOUR
WEEKS FROM THE EXPIRY DATE OF THIS GUARANTEE WHICHEVER IS THE LATER.
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the parties hereto have hereunto set their hands the day and year first
abovewritten.
Signed for and on behalf of the said
Guarantor in the presence of
Name:___________________________________
Designation:______________________________
Bank
(Witness)
Name:___________________________________
Designation:_____________________________
Bank
Signed for and on behalf of the said
Government of Malaysia in the presence
of
Name:___________________________________
Designation:______________________________
Department's Chop
(Witness)
Name:___________________________________
Designation:_____________________________
Department’s Chop
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Concept RFP For Smart School Management System Wednesday, July 23, 1997
Appendix 5 - Glossary
First Stage
In the context of these CRFPs, this refers to the first stage of evaluation of all
the proposals submitted by Responding Organisations in response to the five
CRFPs.
Government
Legally Bound
Consortium
Pilot Schools
Second Stage
Systems
Integration
Unbound
Consortia/
Consortium
This shall mean the Government of Malaysia.
A legal entity that comprises only the winning Unbound Consortium.
This term is used interchangeably with the term "pioneer schools". Both
these terms refer to the 90 schools throughout Malaysia that have been
identified for the deployment of the pilot applications described in all five
CRFPs issued to develop the Malaysian Smart School flagship application of
the Multimedia Super Corridor.
In the context of these CRFPs, this refers to the second stage of evaluation
where Responding Organisations group together as Unbound Consortia to
propose total integrated solutions for all the five CRFPs combined. The
evaluation of these total integrated solutions shall take place at this second
stage.
This refers to the integration of the Smart Schools sub-application systems
for the pilot schools. Systems integration shall ensure the design, installation,
testing and acceptance of each of the Smart School sub-applications i.e.
Teaching-Learning Materials, School Management System, Assessment
System and Technology Infrastructure. These sub-applications are procured,
installed, integrated, tested so that they shall be operational by the date on
which the systems are commissioned.
This definition of the Unbound Consortium/consortia pertains only to the
specific circumstances of the Smart School CRFP processes. In the interests of
all Responding Organisations providing an integrated solution to all the
Smart School applications, all Responding Organisations shall first be
evaluated by the Ministry of Education, according to their responses to the
five CRFPs issued for the Smart School applications. All the short-listed
Responding Organisations resulting from this evaluation process, shall then
form Unbound Consortia from among themselves to present to the Ministry
of Education, a total integrated solution encompassing all the requirements
incorporated in all five CRFPs. The Ministry of Education shall evaluate
these integrated proposals and select the winning Unbound Consortium.
Each Unbound Consortium shall appoint from among its members a lead
Responding Organisation who shall be responsible for all aspects of
integration among the solution providers. The lead Responding
Organisation may, of its own volition, enter into contracts with each member
of the consortium in order to cover all risks involved in forming such a
consortium. The consortium/consortia arising out of the Ministry of
Education evaluation process, serving the purposes outlined above, shall be
described as an Unbound Consortium.
64