KUCHING: Higher education contributes to socioeconomic development through the increase in the source of trained and educated personnel for the rest of the economy, said Datuk Dr Hazland Abang Hipni.
The Deputy Minister of Energy and Environmental Sustainability stated that post-secondary education had been made equally accessible to all.
“More so by the progressive introduction of free tertiary education for Sarawakians studying at Sarawak-owned universities by 2026,” he said during the second phase of the Financial Aid Programme for students who had succeeded in entering tertiary education programmes for the Bako zone on Saturday.
Meanwhile, regarding the programme, the Demak Laut assemblyman said that since the initiative began in 2012, there had been a sharp increase in students going for tertiary education over the last 11 years.
“Initially, there were only 50 to 60 students per year but now, they have increased to 250 students per year,” he said.
Dr Hazland also commended Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Bako on the achievement of its students in the Malaysian Higher School Certificate (STPM) examination. It had been placed in the top 3 ranking in the Sarawak region for the past 4 years.
Acknowledging the demand for technical skills, Dr Hazland urged students pursuing further education to consider technical courses, highlighting the essential role of technical professionals in handling Sarawak government projects, especially in the new emerging industries such as Hydro Technology, Solar, Hydrogen, Carbon Management, Micro-Algae, and Synthetic Energy.
At the programme, 35 students pursuing diploma-level studies and equivalent received RM500 each, while 29 undergraduates received RM700 each, and two students pursuing postgraduate education received RM1,000.
The overall amount of contributions in this programme totalled RM39,800.
