Save early to prepare for your children’s education — Minister
Parents need to start saving for their children’s education from early on to enable them to pursue higher education in the future, says Dato Sri John Sikie Tayai.
The Minister in Sarawak Premier’s Department said as such, parents must allocate at least 11 years to start saving for their children’s education.
“We have to send our children to pursue their studies up to university level in line with the Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030, where the state government is targeting a household income of not less than RM15,000,” he said at the ‘SDGA Mind Aspiration’ programme in Rumah Petrous Ambun, Lubok Bukut in Balingian here recently.
The programme was organised by Sarawak Dayak Graduates Association (SDGA).
Adding on, Sikie said by 2026, the state government would be set on providing free tertiary education for Sarawak children at state-owned universities, namely the Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, Curtin University Malaysia, University of Technology Sarawak, and Kolej Laila Taib.
In this respect, he said the state government’s priority on education was aimed at enabling the children to help improve their family’s income.
“When pursuing your studies, choose those fields that have good job opportunities to avoid unemployment,” he said, also encouraging students to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programmes as this field could open many job opportunities.
Meanwhile, SDGA president Dr Jawing Chunggat said various activities were held during the programme, such as a ‘MIND ASPIRATION’ session with the students, educational talks, health screening and dental check-ups.
“Last year, similar programmes were held by SDGA at SMK Bakun, SMK Sebauh and SMK Lubok Antu. This year’s programme marked the first time of it being held in the longhouse,” he said.
According to Jawing, the programme is a platform for SDGA to provide information at the community level about the direction of the students after Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination, as well as on the available scholarships, loans and assistance.
The programme was attended by some 400 people.