A school app made by Malaysian students is now getting international recognition.
On 19 June, Bernama reported that SK Putrajaya Presint 11(1) has been shortlisted as one of the Top 10 finalists for the World’s Best School Prizes 2025, under the Supporting Healthy Lives category.
The award is organized by UK-based T4 Education, which celebrates schools making a real difference to student lives.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also congratulated the school, saying in a post on X that their efforts were "an inspiration to all."
But what exactly did the school do?
Students Built It Themselves
In 2023, a student-led team at SK Putrajaya created HELPIE, a mental health app that makes emotional support more accessible and fun.
Here’s what the app includes:
- Gamified tools to help students recognize and express their feelings
- A stress-level tracker and emotional self-check-in
- A chat feature that connects to a real online therapist
- Printable cards that support group discussions and emotional learning in class
- App access via school tablets so that no student is left out
Results That Speak Loudly
According to T4 Education, HELPIE has delivered:
- 60% drop in student stress levels
- 90% of students report better emotional understanding
- 87% now better recognize their own stress points
40% improvement in classroom behavior according to teachers
Even parents and the wider community have joined in as well to support this initiative into an achievement.
It’s gone beyond just a tool, it’s a culture shift and heartwarming moment.
A Big Step for One School — And a Signal to Many Others
This is not a private or international school — it’s an ordinary Sekolah Kebangsaan in Putrajaya.
With the right support, government schools can lead the way in mental health innovation and shining as well.
Moving on, the school plans to publish HELPIE on the Google Play Store so others can adopt it.
This means all the schools across Malaysia can plug the app into their own counselling programme.
According to Free Malaysia Today, in November, the school will be invited to the World Schools’ Summit in Abu Dhabi to share their unique ideas and practices with global education leaders.
If one school can build this in-house and see such results — what’s stopping others from doing the same?
And how can we support more ideas like this from the ground up across Malaysia?
Doris Tan (doristanwl@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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