KUCHING: By end of this year, Sarawak will have a brand-new MARA Science Junior College (MRSM) school in Bintulu.
The new school sits on a 26,000 square metre hilly terrain along the Bintulu-Tatau highway with a beautiful view of the South China Sea. As of January 25, 2022 some 70% of the school construction has been completed.
MRSM Bintulu is the fourth school to be built in the state after existing MRSMs built in Kuching, Mukah and Betong.
It comprises an academic block, resource centre, student hostel, administration building, student centre, dining hall, multi-purpose hall, pavilion, surau, staff and teachers’ residences, principal quarters, deputy principal quarters (3 units), head of warden quarters, warden quarters (8 units), teacher quarters (8 units), staff quarters (8 units) and ancillary building.
The facility can accommodate up to 450 Sarawakian students who will focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. The first batch of students is expected to be enrolled in the second quarter of 2023.
The RM101 million school project is a collaboration between PETRONAS, the Sarawak Government and Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA), designed to enhance human capital development in Sarawak through Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education.
PETRONAS Senior Vice President of Human Resource Management Farehana Hanapiah said that the school’s construction solidifies PETRONAS’ commitment in STEM education especially among the young talents of the B40 group in Sarawak.
“Education investment especially in STEM remains PETRONAS’ utmost priority. We remain committed in our effort to continuously encourage and promote students’ interest in STEM and create a sustainable future for the young talents in Sarawak through the construction of MRSM Bintulu,” she said during a working visit to MRSM Bintulu project site recently.
“Therefore, it is appropriate and timely for us to collaborate with Sarawak Government (via Yayasan Sarawak) and MARA to set up this school. PETRONAS contributed in terms of infrastructure development, Yayasan Sarawak provided the land and MARA will operate the school,” she added.
She also said that investing in education and human capital development at all levels will enable a sustainable pipeline of talents for PETRONAS, the oil and gas industry and the nation.
“While PETRONAS aspires to realise its business goals, it continues to uphold its contributions to sustainable development through providing access to quality education, promoting learning and development activities as well as enabling deserving students to realise their career aspirations,” she said.
She further explained that PETRONAS adopts an integrated approach to help develop a well-rounded society which covers a broad spectrum of investment clustered into three areas: Infrastructure, Programmes and Students (from primary to tertiary levels).
Over the years, PETRONAS has been actively contributing to Sarawak’s human capital development through various education investment programmes. For instance, more than 900 Sarawak students have benefitted from the PETRONAS Education Sponsorship Programme (PESP).
To date, 1,015 Sarawak students have graduated from University Technology Petronas (UTP); 2,063 from Institut Teknologi Petroleum PETRONAS (INSTEP); and 128 from Akademik Laut Malaysia (ALAM).
Some 422 Sarawak graduates have also benefitted from its Graduate Employability Enhancement Scheme (GEES) programme – aimed to enhance the employability of new graduates to obtain long-term employment or to set up their own businesses after completing the programme.
PETRONAS had also set up Petrosains in Kuching, in November 2019.
The Vocational Institution Sponsorship and Training Assistance (VISTA) programme is also being carried out at PPKS Awisar, Centexts Kuching and ILP Miri.
Apart from that, PETRONAS is also carrying out the Program Duta Guru Yayasan PETRONAS to enhance the capability of teachers, by developing 4500 highly competent and committed STEM teachers who will serve as role models to enhance Higher Order Thinking Skills through STEM education as foundation to being a competitive nation by 2030.
Some 2,996 students in Sarawak have also benefitted from Yayasan PETRONAS’ CERDIK initiative. Under this programme, PETRONAS contributed RM30 million for the purchase of Ipads, relevant accessories and 12-months of data connectivity. The contribution to Sarawak is the largest among other states in Malaysia, making up 25% of the total contribution.
