Sarawak’s free tertiary education not for all courses, Sagah says

SIBU (Aug 28): The free tertiary education policy to be introduced in 2026 by the Sarawak government is not for every course, but will focus specifically on courses in the science and technical fields, said Dato Sri Roland Sagah Wee Inn.

The state Minister of Education, Innovation and Talent Development explained that the initiative prioritises courses that are considered to have high potential for employment opportunities.

“The Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg has mentioned several times that the emphasis is on science courses and technical expertise and skills.

“For those in the arts side, maybe it (free tertiary education) will be given to those taking accountancy, law and finance.

“Sometimes we mention it generally as free education but it does not mean for every course. The reason why we do this is because there are too many people who have graduated in social sciences and humanities and they cannot get a job.

“So we do not want to send students to universities, they have graduated, come back, they are not going to say thank you because they are jobless but they are going to curse the government.

“We do not want that to happen. We want them to try as hard as possible and as much as possible to go for courses which have a future based on our planning and policies,” he told reporters when met after officiating at the closing of ‘Future Skills For All’ Central Zone 2024 at SMK Lanang here today.

Sagah also stressed the importance of technical courses related to industries being developed in Sarawak, such as hydrogen production and carbon storage.

“Our economy hopes to develop from these resources. By choosing the right course, graduates will have the opportunity to get a good job and a good pay,” he added.

Sagah also rejected the view that all fields of study are equally important for the future of the state, insisting that the emphasis is now on technical courses because this field has increasingly become more important.

“How are we going to have a workforce that can deal with issues like hydrogen production if they do not have a science background?” he said.

He assured that the state government will continue to guide students in choosing courses that offer better career opportunities in line with the state’s aspiration to achieve economic prosperity under Post-Covid Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030.