By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Jan 21: All students with disabilities (OKU) studying at public higher education institutions, polytechnics and community colleges will be granted free education with immediate effect, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced yesterday (Jan 20).
According to The Star, Anwar said the move would benefit about 3,000 OKU students nationwide and marks a further expansion of the government’s free education initiative, which was initially targeted at students from hardcore poor households.
“Today (Jan 20), I also want to announce that all OKU students at public higher education institutions, polytechnics and community colleges, numbering around 3,000, will be given free education starting now,” he said in his speech at the launch of the National Education Development Plan (RPN) 2026–2035 at Dewan Perdana, Putrajaya International Convention Centre.
He explained that at the initial stage, as announced in the 2026 Budget, about 5,800 students from hardcore poor families were provided free education. The programme has since been expanded through additional support under the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN), increasing assistance to 10,000 students from poor households.
However, Anwar stressed that while policy formulation is important, effective implementation remains the bigger challenge.
Quoting poet TS Eliot, he said: “Between the ideals and the realities lies the shadow,” pointing to the frequent gap between ambitious goals and their actual execution.
He emphasised that ministers, senior officials, vice-chancellors and directors must take collective responsibility to ensure the plan is properly carried out, adding that they are required to provide monthly reports on its implementation.
“There is no point in launching a plan with great fanfare, strong rhetoric and impressive documents if implementation fails,” he said, adding that although the plan appears world-class on paper, its real test lies in execution.
Anwar said progress reviews and implementation reports must begin from the end of March, warning that chief secretaries, heads of departments and ministers would be held fully accountable for delivery.
“This is not merely a reminder, but a stern warning from me,” he said, expressing concern that many well-designed plans risk falling short due to weak implementation. — DayakDaily
