KUCHING: Free tertiary education that will be implemented by the state government in the year 2026 will focus on specific courses which relate to the needs of the workforce in Sarawak.
In stating this, Deputy Minister of Education, Innovation and Talent Development Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee said the initiative is meant for universities owned by the state government.
“The focus is on the needs of the Sarawak workforce. So in other words, it does not encompass the entire courses provided by these universities but specific courses based on the needs of the workforce of Sarawak.
“Now we are still studying the courses that are going to be given free and it will be definitely implemented in the year 2026,” he said.
He said this while officiating the 1st series of Jom Masuk U 2024 Zone Sarawak ceremony here on Sunday.
Dr Annuar was representing Minister for Education, Innovation and Talent Development Datuk Roland Sagah.
When met by reporters, he said the free tertiary education will be provided based on the priority needs of the Sarawak workforce.
“We have to study the needs of Sarawak. Based on the needs, we give that as a priority to be given free education.
“The reason for that is because if we open it to every course, there are certain courses for which jobs may not have been created yet and therefore, they will become unemployed. When they become unemployed, the burden will be there again.
“So, we will identify the courses as soon as possible,” he added.
Earlier, Sagah’s speech, read by Dr Annuar, the minister said the initiative for free tertiary education for Sarawakian children involves several state-owned universities such as Universiti Teknologi Sarawak (UTS), Curtin University, Swinburne University, i-CATS University College, and the Centre for Technology Excellence Sarawak (CENTEXS).
“The state government is indeed committed to providing free education to Sarawakian children and we will be the first state to move towards this initiative, opening up opportunities for them to explore new technologies for the advancement of the state and the country as a whole,” said Sagah.
