Friday, July 18, 2008

FRIDAY 18 JULY 2008- GOVT TO GIVE MORE FUNDS FOR CRITICAL COURSES:CM


Govt to give more funds for critical courses: CM

KOTA KINABALU:

The Government will provide a bigger allocation for science and technology-based education in efforts to produce more researchers, scientists, engineers, medical professionals and skilled IT personnel. In an increasingly globalised and challenging world, the Government has taken steps to produce creative and innovative human capital, Chief Minister Datuk Sen Musa Aman said yesterday. “The Sabah Government also wants to produce quality human capital who can contribute to the State and country’s development,” he said when officiating at Kolej PTPL’s ninth convocation here yesterday. The Government must make preparations to produce a skilled and educated workforce in critical fields such as medicine and engineering as well as more accountants and scientists to meet the global employment deniands, Musa said. The Government, he added, has also increased education opportunities including opening up space for the private sector like those in Sabah to play a role in developing the country’s education sector. Private higher learning institutions must be sensitive to current global developments and offer courses relevant to current needs, he said. They should also inject soft skills and multi-tasking skills to ensure their graduates can contribute to the Government’s objective of producing quality human capital, he stressed. Musa said he believed students opt to further their studies at private higher learning institutions such as Kolej PTPL Sabah because of the quality of education offered and because the courses meet the needs of the job market. He said such institutions have contributed much to the State’s education and service sectors, especially in critical fields which are in demand. “I am happy to note that Kolej PTPL Sabah, which is among the biggest in the State with more than 1,000 students, has provided the opportunity for Sabahans to further their studies and at the same time helped to make the State a higher education hub,” he said. This, he pointed out, is in line with the Government’s intention to provide more opportunities for SPM and STPM leavers to further their studies as it is difficult to obtain places in public higher learning institutions. “Admission to public higher learning institutions is so competitive that only 30,757 SPM leavers out of the 156,024 applicants were accepted in the 2008/2009 session. So with private higher learning institutions such as Kolej PTPL Sabah, those who are not accepted have an alternative place to continue their studies,” he said. During the ceremony at Shangri La’s Tanjung Aru Resort, 169 graduates received their scrolls from the Chief Minister.

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