By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Aug 29: Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak chairman, Chong Chieng Jen, has called on the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government to stay true to its promise of providing free tertiary education for all Sarawakians studying in State-owned institutions by 2026.
Chong expressed concern over recent statements by Sarawak Minister for Education, Innovation, and Talent Development, Dato Sri Roland Sagah, indicating that free tertiary education may not apply to all courses.
“The excuse provided by Sagah saying that some courses do not have high potential for employment opportunities is just a lame excuse.
“If the government is of the view that certain courses have little potential for employment opportunity, then the universities should enrol fewer students for such courses in the first place,” he said in a press statement.
Chong, who is also Stampin MP and Padungan assemblyman, asserted that the original promise, made by Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg and repeatedly affirmed by GPS leaders, was that all Sarawakians, regardless of financial status, would receive free tertiary education at the State’s four universities and one higher learning centre by 2026.
He added that the policy was expected to benefit approximately 25,000 Sarawakian students.
Chong further pointed out that the estimated cost of providing free education to all 25,000 students, based on an average annual cost of RM25,000 per student, would be around RM625 million per year.
“Given that the State has an annual revenue of more than RM10 billion, one would expect that the State government can afford to spend this sum; after all, it is for Sarawakians.
“However, the question to ask is, is the Sarawak government prepared and willing to spend this amount for the tertiary education of Sarawakian students? Is there some hidden problem with the Sarawak government’s financial situation that it can now no longer afford to come up with the fund? The GPS government should be transparent and forthcoming on the reason for such backtrack.
“Once again, I call on the State government to proceed with the promise to provide free tertiary education for all, not only the four universities and one higher learning centre but also those Sarawakians studying in the other universities in Sarawak,” he said. — DayakDaily
