FREE education and skills training are helping Sarawakian families keep more of their savings.
Batu Lintang assemblyman, See Chee How, said the progress now seen in Sarawak was once difficult to imagine.
He said the Free Tertiary Education Scheme (FTES) was among the key efforts giving young Sarawakians access to tertiary education.
“A total of 4,694 students from four higher education institutions in Sarawak had been offered free education under the scheme this year,” he said during his debate on the motion of appreciation for the address by Head of State, Tun Pehin Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting today.
He noted that Sarawak Skills and CENTEXS had also contributed by providing free tuition and stipends to students and trainees who chose their programmes.
“Through various industry-led upskilling programmes, Sarawak Skills had trained 2,170 participants under its Digital Economy Track, Green Energy Track, Oil and Gas Track, Heavy Industry Track, and Construction and Infrastructural Track.
“CENTEXS, meanwhile, has produced 10,415 graduates in sectors including oil and gas, energy, welding and manufacturing, aerospace, telecommunications, digital technology, semiconductors and electronics, data centres, agriculture, creative media, Internet of Things and artificial intelligence,” he said.
See said these efforts, especially in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields, were expected to strengthen Sarawak’s future talent pipeline.
“They will also help provide skilled manpower across strategic industries in support of Sarawak’s development agenda and the Post COVID-19 Development Strategy 2030,” he added.
At the household level, he said FTES, Sarawak Skills and CENTEXS helped reduce the financial burden on families, as students could pursue their studies and training at no cost to their families.
“Conversely, most of them are and will receive stipends when they are studying and are undergoing training,” See added.
He said that these initiatives meant parents would not have to exhaust their savings, sell their properties or mortgage their land and properties to pay for their children’s tertiary education, training and upskilling.
“FTES, together with the Senior Citizens Health Benefits, Sumbangan Keperluan Asas Sarawak and the Free School Bus project, were among state government initiatives bringing direct benefits to Sarawakian homes,” he concluded.
