‘Priority on improving schools, not setting up college in Kapit’
KAPIT: Further enhancements to the primary and secondary schools here outweigh the need of having an institution of higher learning in this district.
Deputy Minister of Rural and Regional Development Datuk Alexander Nanta Linggi, in stating this, believes that it all boils down to priority.
“I’m not saying no to the setting up of a college in Kapit, but we must prioritise. Our priority now is to improve our schools – both primary and secondary. If we don’t address this major issue, then who will go to college?
“We improve our schools, produce good students and then, they would go to colleges somewhere else. Many have succeeded over the years – there are many graduates coming from the longhouses in Kapit. As such, having or not having a college in Kapit is not an issue,” he told The Borneo Post recently.
In connection with this, Nanta – who is Kapit MP – said it is vital to have good road accessibility that would facilitate the mobility of the people here.
“What we must do now is to go all out making sure that every longhouse in Kapit is connected with road. This is my priority,” he stressed.
“There is nothing wrong with going to colleges away from Kapit. Education is meant for you to go out rather than becoming like a frog stuck inside a well. If you (students) are clever and capable, then you should go out to study in Kuching, Sibu or in other big areas. I believe that brilliant students who go out of their hometowns and villages to further their studies are able to be gain better exposures and real experience.
“Again, I reiterate that I’m not saying it’s not important to set up a university or college in Kapit; it’s a matter of priority.
“Of course, when the infrastructure gets better here, then we set up a college, which could attract students from outside Kapit to come here and study,” he added.
I’m not saying no to the setting up of a college in Kapit, but we must prioritise. Our priority now is to improve our schools – both primary and secondary. If we don’t address this major issue, then who will go to college? Datuk Alexander Nanta Linggi, Deputy Minister of Rural and Regional Development