KOTA KINABALU: Community activist Jaesman Gipin expressed his full support for the call made by Tuaran Member of Parliament Datuk Madius Tangau for the Ministry of Education (KPT) to introduce a free tuition assistance initiative specifically for Sabah children pursuing higher education through the UPU system in public educational institutions in Sabah.
He stated that this proposal is timely and should be supported by all parties, especially students.
In this regard,Jaesman urged Madius to also advocate for the realisation of the Sabah government’s promise to provide free education at state-owned higher education institutions at the University College of Yayasan Sabah (UCSF) and the Yayasan Sabah Technology College (KTYS).
Prior to last year’s Sabah state election, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor himself expressed the GRS government’s intention to provide free education at UCSF if given the mandate to govern the state.
“As members of GRS, we hope that the MP for Tuaran will rise to demonstrate sincerity and fight tirelessly to realize free education at least at one private higher education institution in UCSF owned by the Sabah government, ideally before the 16th general election,” he said in a statement here today.
Jaesman is confident that free education can be implemented in Sabah, considering the success of the GPS government in Sarawak in providing free education at four universities owned by the neighboring state.
The four Sarawak government-owned universities offering the Free Tertiary Education Scheme (FTES) to the people of Sarawak are Swinburne University of Technology Kuching, Curtin University Malaysia Miri, Universiti Teknologi Sarawak (UTS) Sibu, and i-CATS University College Kuching.
Jaesman added that the people also hope that the special allocation from the federal government to Sabah amounting to RM1.5 billion can help realize this noble vision.
“There is no reason why the GRS state government cannot implement free education at UCSF, especially since the government’s economic situation is being touted as positive. If the Sarawak government can do it, then Sabah should be able to as well.
“We hope that the Sabah government’s proposal to provide free education at UCSF is not merely a rhetorical promise to gain public support,” he stated.
Therefore, Jaesman hopes that the MP for Tuaran cum Tamparuli assemblyman, who is the vocal in Parliment, will raise the issue of free education at UCSF during the upcoming question-and-answer session or debate in the state legislative assembly meeting, thus demonstrating his seriousness in championing the cause of the people and the state.
