Not all higher education courses in Sarawak will be free, says state minister

 

Sarawak education minister Roland Sagah Wee Inn urged undergraduates to go for courses with a future based on the state’s planning and policies. (File pic)

PETALING JAYA: 

Although Sarawak will be offering free higher education at all state-owned universities from 2026, this will not apply to every tertiary course, state education, innovation and talent development minister Roland Sagah Wee Inn clarified today.

Sagah said the state government would prioritise courses in science and technical fields, which would produce graduates who would receive better job opportunities, The Borneo Post reported.

“For the arts, maybe (free tertiary education) will be given to those taking accounting, law and finance. Though we say ‘free education’, it does not mean for every course.

“The reason for this is because there are too many graduates in the fields of social sciences and humanities who cannot get jobs. 

We want (undergraduates) to go for courses with a future based on our planning and policies,

 he was quoted as saying.

Sagah also dismissed the view that all fields of study were important to Sarawak’s development, saying the emphasis must be on technical courses related to growing sectors in the Bornean state.

This, he said, included hydrogen production and carbon storage.

How are we going to have a workforce that can deal with issues like hydrogen production if they do not have a science background?

 he asked.

Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg had said the state government would be able to offer free tertiary education at all state-owned universities to Sarawakians in three years’ time, thanks to its economic strength.

The state education ministry had also urged Putrajaya to reclassify Sarawak-owned universities as public universities or state higher learning institutions, instead of private universities, as classified currently. - FMT