Investing in a Brighter Future

Bridging the Education Gap for Children Living in our Plantations Globally

ACCESS to quality education is a fundamental right, yet many children, particularly those living in rural areas, face significant barriers of entry. This challenge is especially evident among the children of plantation workers–many from families of migrant workers–who often find themselves excluded from mainstream education due to geographical remoteness, financial limitations, and even regulatory constraints.

These barriers have far-reaching consequences, not only for the children themselves but also for their families and communities.

Without access to education, children risk being caught in cycles of poverty, unable to achieve their full potential or contribute meaningfully to the broader social and economic fabric of the region.

Addressing the education gap in remote communities is critical, not only to uplift individual lives, but also to meet global commitments like the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 4: ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education for all.

Challenges facing remote communities

Oil palm plantation workers in East Malaysia often live in remote, rural areas with limited schools, longer commuting distances and inadequate transportation, which make attending school quite challenging. On top of that, children of migrant workers also lack access to the Malaysian formal national education system.

Even where schools are available, the lack of infrastructure, qualified teachers and educational materials can undermine the quality of learning.

Without targeted interventions, these children are at risk of being left behind, unable to thrive and unlock their full potential that will open the door to new and better opportunities for them.

Locally tailored solutions that address both access and quality are key—solutions that not only provide schools but also tackle the broader socioeconomic barriers that keep children out of the classroom. One such example can be found in the education initiatives implemented within plantation communities in Sabah and Sarawak.

A transformative approach to schools

Since 2007, Wilmar International (Wilmar) has been establishing schools within its plantations, beginning with its first Humana school in East Malaysia.

Wilmar partners with the Borneo Child Aid Society (Humana) to implement targeted initiatives that make education accessible and inclusive for underserved communities, directly supporting SDG Target 4.1 (free, equitable, quality primary and secondary education).

Today, this initiative has grown to encompass 13 schools in Sabah and Sarawak, serving over 1,000 children aged between five to 15.

The schools aim to deliver a well-rounded curriculum which include:

• Languages: English, Malay, and Indonesian.
• STEM: Mathematics and science.
• Creative and physical development: Arts and sports.

Breaking ceilings, removing burdens

Plantation-based education programmes—such as the one conducted by Wilmar and Humana—also tackle the financial and logistical challenges that often prevent children from attending school.

To facilitate a conducive learning environment, Wilmar provides the following:

• Free resources: Providing free uniforms, school supplies and textbooks to alleviate financial pressures on families.
• Reliable transportation: Ensuring safe and consistent access to schools for children in remote areas.
• Cross-border integration: Adopting both Malaysian and Indonesian syllabi to facilitate seamless transitions for migrant children.

By addressing these systemic barriers, we are striving to ensuring that all children have access to quality early childhood development and pre-primary education, while contributing to thriving communities.

Wilmar also strives to remove these barriers to education on a broader scale.

In Indonesia, Wilmar was actively involved in building and modernising 15 schools to ensure they are equipped with proper facilities, including computer labs, science labs and libraries. The new conducive schools follow the government syllabus which are taught by government-appointed teachers to ensure that the students are up-to-date with their urban peers.

This redevelopment programme has benefitted between 6,500 and 7,000 children annually from pre-primary school through secondary school ages since its completion in 2017.

Aside from that, Wilmar also established Community Learning Centres (CLCs) to offer secondary education. Working closely with the government of Indonesia, the CLCs adopt the Indonesian curriculum, thus enabling a smoother transition for students who choose to return to Indonesia from East Malaysia to pursue their higher education.

There are now nine CLCs (seven in Sabah, two in Sarawak) helping children access a continuous education pathway.

Wilmar also undertook a project to reconstruct and upgrade primary and secondary schools surrounding our operations and communities in Africa.

In Cross Rivers state, Nigeria, our team have built libraries, science labs and computer labs to enhance students' interest in science and technology.

By 2021, the team completed upgrading all six schools including improving the infrastructure, teaching standards and extracurricular activities. Additionally, staff volunteers helped manage the schools and identified that a lack of accommodation for teachers had hindered their teaching efforts.

To address this, Wilmar built two-bedroom apartments for teachers on campus, providing fully furnished housing with free utilities.

Wilmar also launched a scholarship programme in 2014—known as the PZ-Wilmar Scholarship—to advance educational literacy and create opportunities for indigenes from landlord communities to pursue higher education. The scholarship covered the entire tuition fee for awardees enrolled in programmes in government-owned tertiary institutions.

To date, some 292 students from the host communities surrounding Wilmar's operations in Cross Rivers state have been awarded.

Foundation for prosperity

By ensuring that even the most marginalised children have access to learning opportunities, these initiatives help close the gap between different socioeconomic groups, fostering fairness and social mobility.

This International Day of Education (Jan 24) is a stark reminder of the need for collective action to bridge the education gap.

It is only through engagement at the grassroots level that meaningful progress can be made, where initiatives bring schooling to the heart of plantation communities.

For Wilmar, the goal is to sow seeds of learning by removing barriers so that we can work towards a more sustainable future that is within the reach of the next generation.

Read more on Wilmar’s sustainability initiatives at https://www.wilmar-international.com/sustainability