Big turnout at education fair
Students and parents arrive two hours before start of event
Students and parents arrive two hours before start of event.
GEORGE TOWN: Eager students and parents gathered at the entrance of the SPICE Arena two hours before the Star Education Fair 2017 opened at 11am.
Among the early visitors yesterday were 120 Form Five students from SMJK Chio Min in Kulim.
Accompanied by four teachers, they came in three buses provided by the school.
One of the teachers, Yen Yin Yin, said the trip was organised to expose the students to local and foreign institutions exhibiting at the fair and the wide range of courses offered.
“It’ll be a good exposure for them to find out about the courses that they can study in the future,” she said.
Friends Tan Sun Wern, Tan Jiah Mei and Pua Yue, all aged 17, were excited to visit the fair.
“This is our first time visiting the fair. We want to explore it to help us plan our tertiary education,” said Sun Wern.
“We don’t have any university, college or course in mind but we hope to find out more through the fair.”
Star Media Group Bhd editor-inchief Datuk Leanne Goh said that 29 partners-in-education have pledged a total of 272 scholarships valued at RM13mil to the Star Education Fund.
“From this, Penangites will receive 53 scholarships worth over RM1mil from our five northern region partners namely Equator College, KDU Penang University College, Sentral College Penang, MSU College Penang and Sunway College Ipoh.
“We’ve given away RM108.3mil worth of scholarships to 3,582 recipients since the fund began in 1994,” she said at the opening of the Star Education Fair 2017.
Goh welcomed three new partners-in-education – Quest International University Perak, Oriental Nilam College of Nursing and Health Sciences, and Malaysian Institute.
She said employers had voiced their concern over the absence of certain traits in graduates, making them less employable.
“It is no secret that English proficiency is one of the deficiencies among our graduates.
“This is a major complaint in every industry,” she said.
Quoting Alibaba Group founder and executive chairman Jack Ma, Goh said there was a need for people to think creatively, be innovative and imaginative.
The two-day fair, which ends today, is held from 11am to 7pm.
The one-stop education extravaganza, organised by Star Media Group Bhd, features more than 100 exhibitors occupying over 200 booths. Admission is free.
It is no secret that English proficiency is one of the deficiencies among our graduates. This is a major complaint in every industry.
Datuk Leanne Goh