Abang Johari fields questions from reporters. – Photo by Mohd Faisal Ahmad
KUCHING (Dec 18): Sarawak will open doors for students to pursue arts-related disciplines, including journalism, at state-owned universities under the Free Tertiary Education Scheme (FTES), said Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.
While the scheme is largely science-based to meet the needs of Sarawak’s new economy, Abang Johari said arts-related programmes such as accounting, finance, and journalism are included to ensure a well-rounded pool of professionals.
“We want to have a special study on arts that includes journalism.
“This is so that you have good quality media. TVS needs quality media people, also your newspapers, you need quality media,” he told reporters after launching the FTES at a hotel here.
He said the first batch of FTES will involve more than 4,000 first-year students enrolled in 64 identified bachelor’s degree programmes at four Sarawak-owned universities, with the academic session expected to begin in February or March next year.
Psychology has been added in response to changing lifestyles and increasing mental health pressures, he added.
“Psychology now is because of the new lifestyle, and there’s a lot of pressure. So you need professional counselors, and psychology is included because of the lifestyle, a lot of stress, and we need people who know about that discipline,” he said.
Apart from accounting and finance, which are arts-related, the rest of the programmes are science-based and aimed at producing graduates who can either work with major companies or become professionals.
“And then the salary will be high, so that’s the way for us to mitigate poverty and increase the income level of the household,” he said.
Abang Johari said the list of programmes under FTES may be expanded in the future through the addition of new disciplines and sub-disciplines.
“These programmes could be sub-disciplines. For example, in engineering, you now have management and construction as another discipline. So there could be a possibility of cyber security, where a new discipline will be added,” he said.
However, he said decisions on programme expansion would be left to the relevant ministry and the universities, as long as the right workforce is prepared for the new economy.
On institutional involvement, Abang Johari said participation under FTES is limited to Sarawak-owned institutions.
“It must be Sarawak-owned. i-CATS has become a university. There is also the possibility of other institutions like Centexs becoming another institution,” he said.
As for student intake, Abang Johari said there would be no fixed limit as long as students meet the course requirements.
“There will be no limit for the students’ intake for as long as they really want to study and meet the course requirements,” he said.
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