Jabu happy more rural Bumiputera students pursuing STEM
KOTA SAMARAHAN: A total of 704 graduates from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak ( Unimas) Faculty of Cognitive Sciences and Human Development received their certificates at the third session of the university’s 19th convocation ceremony held at Unimas’ Dewan Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra ( DeTAR Putra) yesterday.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang, who is also Unimas pro chancellor, was on hand to present the graduates with their scrolls witnessed by Unimas vice chancellor Prof Dato Dr Mohamad Kadim Suaidi.
Earlier in his speech, Jabu noted that Unimas had witnessed an increasing number of students graduating from the university each year.
“I also noticed this very pleasant trend where more Bumiputera from rural areas in the state have also gone on to pursue various disciplines in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
“This goes to show parents (in rural areas) are now devoting their time for their children’s education and this is a very positive investment to provide competitive advantage for the future,” he stressed while commending the effort of parents in sending their children for higher education.
Jabu also called on graduates to place emphasis in mastering English as it was a universally accepted language for communication.
“One of the main reasons for low employability in the country is also due to the lack of proficiency in English among local university graduates.
“This is the very reason why Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem strongly emphasised that we must study Bahasa Malaysia as a national language and at the same time also be able to write and speak in English,” he said.
He suggested that Unimas feature his version of the popular Iban song ‘ Bekikis Bulu Betis’ which he personally re-titled to ‘Wawasan Bekikis Bulu Betis’ at the university’s future convocation ceremonies due to its meaningful lyrics that bear the message of nurturing good discipline.
Meanwhile, Kadim said Unimas had launched its five year strategic plan to establish ‘Sustainability for Diverse and Dispersed Community’ in its effort to attain global excellence.
“The four key focus of this stragic plan are to achieve excellence in education and training, excellence in ecosystem innovation, global prominence and financial sustainability.
“These four strategic focus serve as the transformation framework which has already been put into action for university staff at all levels,” he remarked.
Kadim also pointed out that Unimas has also reviewed the major thrust areas of the university and would be introducing three new thrusts, namely conservation of biodiversity and the environment, sustainability of community transformation and creative communication and information technology, which will spearhead and contribute towards the education quality of the university.
The 19th Unimas Convocation ceremony, which commenced on Saturday, will see 3,919 graduates receive their Bachelor, Masters and Doctorate degrees.