KUCHING, Sept 2: Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) Youth suggests setting up education trust board in every rural state constituency to ensure rural children have access to proper education.
PRS Youth Chief Datuk Snowdan Lawan in a statement today said school-going children from rural areas of Sarawak would need all the financial aid they could get to the purchase of workbooks, stationeries, payment of tuition fees for extra class, text books, calculators, other study materials, and even school uniforms.
“I strongly support and appreciate the call to set up education trust board. This will go a long way in assisting our children’s parents, the target groups, especially those in the rural areas, the lower income group such as farmers and general workers,” said Snowdan.
He was responding to Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas who announced the setting up of an education trust board in the latter’s Bukit Saban constituency.
Uggah at the time also approved an initial launching grant of RM50,000 for the board to be set up and requested a committee to be set up and sent to the state government.
“It (an education trust board) will be impactful for a constituency like Balai Ringin where we have one secondary school and nineteen primary schools.
“With this Education trust board, it looks more permanent and consistent whereby those who excel are given incentives and the needy, receive aid,” said Snowdan who is also Balai Ringin assemblyman.
The Youth and Sports Assistant Minister said this would be Sarawak’s own proactive way and initiative to better the education standard at the onset rather than to wait for federal assistance, a wait he said would never end despite education being under the federal jurisdiction.
“And, it would be good if the other elected representatives could emulate this initiative for their constituency too,” he added.
Snowdan also proposed that the state to pursue this funding from national oil company Petronas since it has been benefiting from Sarawak’s oil and gas resources.
“May I also suggest that the state pursue this funding from Petronas so that our children have a fair share of the black gold that are sourced from the belly of our motherland, Sarawak,” he said.
He also expressed his discontentment with the setting up of University Technology Petronas (UTP) in Seri Iskandar, Perak and not in Bintulu, Sarawak, where the bulk of the country’s oil and gas resources are from.
“I hope all Sarawakians stand together in one voice, legislative or otherwise in pursuing this noble cause,” said Snowdan. — DayakDaily
