SIBU: The choice of programme after finishing Foundation is open at University of Technology Sarawak (UTS), formerly known as University College of Technology Sarawak or UCTS.
Vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Khairuddin Abdul Hamid, in his welcoming speech during the June Foundation intake oath-taking ceremony today, said it was up to the students to choose the programme they would like to further their studies in after Foundation.
He noted that UTS was different from other universities, which required students to apply for the programme they wanted through Unit Pusat Universiti (UPU), the centralised agency that coordinated the intake of public tertiary education institutes in the country.
“Those who attend Form Six, Matriculation or Foundation, if they want to further their studies to IPTA and IPTS, they need to apply through UPU.
“However, UPU asks you to fill in 12 choices, which is very difficult and at the end of the day, you will select whatever to fill in all the choices.
“Unfortunately, most of the time, the student will get choice No. 11 and No. 12, which you only put in just to complete the 12 choices. Sometimes, you even get the programme that is not even on your list.”
Thus, Prof Khairuddin stressed that in the long run, this affected the students as they did not have the freedom to choose yet needed to continue their studies in courses that they had no interest in.
“So, the difference here in UTS is if you join our Foundation programme, after you have finished, you can choose any programme that we have as long as you are eligible to apply.
“You can choose accounting, computer, architecture, quantity surveying or marketing, it is all up to you. We will never reject you as long as you are eligible for the course.”
On another note, he advised the students to take good care of the campus’ cleanliness and infrastructure.
“There is no point having a beautiful campus but we are not taking care of it. Hence, I hope all of you will look after it. Let’s do this together.”
He also stressed the importance of students involved actively in co-curricular activities to build interpersonal skills as “we want to produce not only smart students but also those with excellent interpersonal skills.”
“Employers nowadays are not only looking at your educational achievements but also your character, whether or not you can cope, communicate, present and so on.
“Hence, we encourage our students to get involved in all sorts of healthy activities not only in the campus but also outside the campus,” he added.
He also encouraged the students to seek help if they have any problem or difficulty in their studies or daily life in the campus. “We have counsellors, meet them if you have a problem. Don’t be shy or afraid. You must talk to somebody. You can even talk to your parents, your close friends.”
