SPAOH: Rural longhouses should ideally set up their own mini libraries.
In suggesting this, Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas pointed out that having libraries is now an important component in education.
“Libraries could inculcate the reading habits among students from pre-schooling age and I am optimistic that this would go a long way in helping students to always love studying until their tertiary education and beyond,” he said.
He said this when launching an English language proficiency course for students of the SRK St John at RH Jabin Begilie at Tembawai Tinting today.
In light of this, he said that libraries should be well stocked with books and magazines both in English and Bahasa Kebangsaan.
Moreover, Uggah added that students could depend on the libraries during their school breaks to acquire knowledge and skills
“In Sarawak, we still place strong emphasis on the position of English. In fact, Sarawak is the only state still doing this as the English language is a very important international language in communication, education, business, science, technology, and so forth.
“Although the Bahasa Kebangsaan is our official language, we want our students to be proficient in English as well. In our State Legislative Assembly sitting, we use both English and the Bahasa Kebangsaan to speak and debate.
“We have also seen now that the national education system places great importance on the teaching of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects.
“English is essentially used in teaching,” he stressed.
During the same programme, Uggah announced a grant of RM10,000 to be used to acquire more reading materials for SRK St John besides another grant of RM100,000 to improve its sports field.
