SIBU: Providing education can no longer be calculated in terms of return on investment (ROI), pointed out Deputy Minister of Education, Innovation and Talent Development Dr Annuar Rapaee.
“How much you spend on education, the return is huge and cannot be counted at all in term of dollars and cents especially for the poor families as it will change their whole life. I am from poor family.
“That is why I believe that the only way to change for the people is through education,” he said when witnessing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between University of Technology Sarawak (UTS) and Yayasan Farley at UTS campus here yesterday (Mar 22).
UTS was represented by its Vice Chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Khairuddin Ab Hamid while Yayasan Farley by its president Eijing Lau.
Dr Annuar said since taking over the chairmanship of UTS Board of Directors he has been working closely with Dr Khairuddin on the UTS’s fees restructuring.
He said the university is one of the best campuses in the country featuring the platinum green building index and with futuristic vision.
However, he said more importantly, was the number of students who would benefit from the establishment of the university.
Moving from a university college to a full-fleged university, he pointed out the next important step was to increase the number of students especially Sarawakian who would benefit from its establishment.
He explained this was the reason he had been working very hard with the board of management to convince the Sarawak government that the university was a huge investment which involved a lot of funds but the return on investment should not be calculated in term of dollars and cents.
“No way we can calculate in terms of ROI … it is human capital investment.
“We have approached the Premier of Sarawak and we are so happy and lucky that the Sarawak government provides 100 per cent scholarship for foundation students, in other words, they do not have to spend a single sen to join the foundation course in UTS which previously would cost RM10,000.
“Now it is all free…a year course before they attend the degree course which we manage to convince the State government to provide 50 per cent scholarship for Sarawakian students. Just imagine previously they need to spend about RM70,000 or RM78,000 for an engineering degree. It is now only RM30,000 plus,” he enthused.
Thus, he pointed out students from poor family background would not have to pay any fees because of the help from the State government and several other foundations like Yayasan Farley to further their studies.
Earlier, Khairuddin thanked Dr Annuar for his idea and initiative to establish this strategic partnership between UTS and Farley Foundation.
He said the sponsorship would provide opportunity to students especially from low income families to pursue their studies in UTS.
“For foundation and undergraduate students, we have the Tunku Abdul Rahman scholarship, Tun Taib scholarship, Nangka scholarship, Sarawak Energy Berhad scholarship, Yayasan Toh Li Hua, Tabung Baitumal Sarawak, Yu Chee Hoe & Lee Kwan Charitable Trust (YCHLK) and Bakun Trust Fund.
“Yayasan Sarawak, Yayasan Sabah and PTPTN also provide study loan and special grants for registration and living expenses.
“Recently, I have been approached by Mitsubishi Corporation (MC)and after a series of discussions and their visit to UTS, they have agreed to provide MC International scholarship to UTS students. They will provide us with yearly scholarship to four undergraduates and one postgraduate student,” he disclosed.
Meanwhile Lau said the Farley Group which was established in 1988, has been serving the communities in Sarawak for over 30 years.
“Over the years, as part of our corporate social responsibility, Farley Group have been providing donations to those in need via various channels. However, we recognised the need to have a better platform to further our cause, and hence Yayasan Farley was established last year. From 2021 onwards, Yayasan Farley will be the entity that runs all the major charity and community services under Farley.
“We would like to reiterate that the main purpose of Yayasan Farley is to support education. Education and quality of life is inseparable. We believe that all students need and deserve education and one should not be deterred merely because he or she could not afford it financially,” Lau said.
