Dr Annuar: 82 pct of courses at three state-owned universities to be free under Sarawak education scheme
Dr Annuar said the list of free courses will continue to expand, with reviews to be carried out by an independent panel formed by universities. – Photo by Chimon Upon
KUCHING (May 27): A total of 82 per cent courses offered at three state-owned universities next year will be free under the Sarawak Free Tertiary Education Scheme (FTES).
Deputy Minister for Education, Innovation and Talent Development (MEITD) Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee said the figure is based on data from Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak, Curtin University Malaysia, and University of Technology Sarawak.
He revealed that Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak will offer 22 out of 25 courses for free, UTS will offer 15 out of 18 courses for free, while 21 out of 28 Curtin University Malaysia courses will be free.
'All in all, 82 per cent of the courses offered by the three universities will be free next year, which is almost 100 percent,' Dr Annuar told a press conference at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) today.
He added i-CATS University College had yet to give its figure.
He was responding to Chong Chieng Jen (DAP–Padungan), who had yesterday questioned the ministry on why FTES only applied to selected courses.
Dr Annuar said the list of free courses will continue to expand, with reviews to be carried out by an independent panel formed by universities.
'The review of which courses are needed is done by an independent panel formed by universities such as UPM (Universiti Putra Malaysia) and UiTM (Universiti Teknologi Mara).
'So, if Swinburne says, 'I want this course to be free,' we will forward this to the panel. The panel will then advise the ministry, and the Cabinet will have to approve,' he explained.
He cited psychology as an example of a course that was not initially included but later added following a review.
'Initially it was not there, but when we reviewed and the Premier agreed, there were many people with problems.
'And partly also, in psychology, there is a science input. In psychology, it's all part of the brain.
'So, there needs to be science input. In fact, we are short of that,' said Dr Annuar.
He added that once the infrastructure is in place, the focus should shift to human capital, as natural resources alone are insufficient to drive economic growth.
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