THE Ministry of Education, Innovation and Talent Development has not let up in its pursuit of education autonomy for Sarawak.
Minister Datuk Roland Sagah Wee Inn said the autonomy for Sarawak is only limited to Paragraph 17 of the Inter-Governmental Committee Report (IGC), 1962.
“Paragraph 17 does not grant full autonomy for education to Sarawak. It sets conditions for the use of English and Malay languages, religious education, and special position of the indigenous people.
“It also affirms the need for the Sarawak director of education to consult and seek advice from the state government.
“In addition, it also allows for local authorities to continue as agents for primary education,” he said when delivering his ministerial winding-up speech today.
On matters of higher education, he said, Paragraph 17 also stipulates the need for Sarawak to be given special consideration in the expansion of the facilities.
“Therefore, my ministry is working within the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) Committee to persistently pursue the matter.
“We will not seek anything more or anything less than what has been stipulated in Paragraph 17 of the IGC Report,” he said.
On another note, he said under the Post-Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2023, his ministry is tasked with spearheading the development of human capital in Sarawak to equip them with the right knowledge, skills and attitudes and at the right time, to meet the requirements for the new economy, particularly in renewable energy, biotechnology, microelectronics, and the all-encompassing Industrial Revolution 4.0.
“My ministry realises the importance of a talent development masterplan and as such a special task force which involves stakeholders, including the relevant government agencies, industry players, as well as institutes of higher learning and technical institutions are in a rigorous engagement.
“The masterplan is in progress and expected to be finalised by the fourth-quarter of this year,” added Roland.
