CHIEF Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said the State Government through the Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) initiative will continue to support and commit to empowering human capital through the development of the education sector in the State.
He said there are many assistances and initiatives provided by the Government through relevant government agencies to ensure that young Sabahans get a perfect education.
Among them is the Yayasan Sabah (YS) Group which has provided a number of educational assistance initiatives for young Sabahans including scholarships, secondary bursaries, higher education scholarships and bursaries and higher education loans with a total of 121,897 students have benefited involving expenses amounting to RM868,324,000 from 1967 to June 2024.
“In this year alone, YS has sponsored scholarships for a total of 1,179 students with an allocation of RM15,271,000 and loan assistance involving 675 students with an allocation of RM12,055,000,” he said at the launch of the Sabah Education Sponsorship Portal (PTPS) at Menara Kinabalu, Kota Kinabalu, on July 2.
The Chief Minister said last year, the State Government has increased the Sabah State Scholarship allocation from RM55 million to RM101 million with the total active sponsorship for this year being 7,275 students in and outside the country.
The increased allocation allows more needy young Sabahans to have the opportunity to continue their education at a higher level, added Hajiji.
He said the State Government has also established the Sabah Education Fund (TPNS) which was launched on June 2, 2023, to collect funds to enable more sponsorship opportunities to be channelled to young Sabahans who successfully continue their studies to higher education institutions.
With a total of RM55,700,000 in fund contributions, he said a total of 5,040 students had received assistance with expenses amounting to RM5,167,000.
“The State Government will continue to empower TPNS to help students who are facing education sponsorship problems,” said Hajiji.
In addition, he said, the Sabah Islamic Religious Council (MUIS) is also committed to the welfare needed by young Sabahans who continue their studies by providing educational assistance with registration fees, one-off flight ticket assistance and bursaries, especially for Islamic studies courses.
“Last year, scholarships have been given to 1,900 students with a total expenditure of RM12,301,000.
“Under its one-off education assistance, they include early registration fee, one-off flight ticket assistance and Outstanding Student Award (APC) for Malaysian Higher Religious Education Certificate (STAM),” he said.
Hajiji said the State Government has also launched various initiatives under the Deputy State Secretary’s Office (Special Tasks) with 10 types of assistance in various aspects.
He said concerned with the problems of students regarding the high cost of airline tickets, the State Government for the first time has provided a subsidy for airline tickets through the Graduan Rindu Sabah (SubFly) amounting to RM600 to all Sabah students studying in public and private universities in the Peninsula, Sarawak and Labuan last March with an allocation of RM10 million.
He said the Government through the Sabah Baitulmal Corporation provides financial assistance for early education to students at the basic level, matriculation, diploma and bachelor’s degrees in public and private universities as well as polytechnics for all fields of study.
He said from 2020 until now, a total of 1,160 students have received the benefit of the one-off assistance involving an allocation of RM452,250.
