SARAWAK FREE EDUCATION INITIATIVE TO BE EXPANDED TO IPTA NEXT YEAR

KUCHING, March 10 (Bernama) -- Starting next year, the free higher education initiative offered by the Sarawak government will be extended to students at public higher education institutions (IPTA) as part of the second phase of the programme.

Rector of Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Sarawak branch, Dr Firdaus Abdullah, said that Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg has agreed in principle to the proposal, particularly for UiTM Sarawak students, to develop a skilled workforce.

“This initiative will be implemented in the next phase, which is the second phase, where free education will be extended to students from Sarawak at public higher education institutions in the state, especially UiTM Sarawak,” he told reporters after paying a courtesy call on the Sarawak Premier here today.

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The first phase of the free higher education initiative involves five institutions, namely the i-CATS University College, Sarawak Centre of Excellence for Technology (CENTEXS), Sarawak University of Technology, Curtin University Malaysia, and Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak.

Meanwhile, Firdaus said that Abang Johari has proposed a collaboration between UiTM Sarawak and the state government in the agriculture sector, with UiTM Mukah campus becoming a hub for rice cultivation projects, particularly in the research and development of rice seeds, productivity, and yields.

“We will study this proposal, and we will establish a research team to conduct studies and propose to the Sarawak government how we can assist in terms of technology, infrastructure, and rice cultivation productivity for Sarawak.

“This also includes carbon storage as rice cultivation is related to this matter,” he added.

-- BERNAMA