KUCHING, Oct 31: Dayak Think-Tank Association Sarawak (DTTAS) intends to organise next year’s Education Fair for rural folk.
DTTAS Education Fair 2022 secretary Jacqueline Martin said her team is currently in the process of planning next year’s fair to meet the demands of SPM and STPM leavers.
“After the success of organising the DTTAS Education Fair in Sibu on September 16 and 17, we intend to continue organising it next year in the rural areas,” she said in a statement recently.
The education fair aims to convey information about educational opportunities, training and educational assistance to youth and students throughout Sarawak, especially SPM and STPM leavers.
At the same time, Jacqueline stated that there is a concern over eligible students who could not get places in public universities due to limited vacancies for competitive courses, not meeting the specific conditions set by the chosen university, failing the interview session and having low merit points.
She also mentioned the issue of SPM leavers who refused to further their studies after completing Form 5 where the Department of Statistics reported that 72.1 per cent or 390,000 SPM graduates did not do so in 2021.
The department in 2019 also reported that 5.8 per cent of the approximately 32 million Malaysian population either did not go to school or dropped out of the national education system.
“This group that does not go to school consists of those born in poor families, including the Orang Asli community and the Orang Asal community of Sabah and Sarawak.
“Places in public universities are limited and now the competition is too high to get a place in public universities.
“In fact, this becomes a serious concern if not curbed,” she added. — DayakDaily
