Build tertiary or technical institute in Lawas — Henry

AID FOR STUDENTS: Henry (fourth left) presenting a mock cheque of the student aid as outlined in the 2012 Budget to Matzinan and Omar (left).

LAWAS: Over 2,000 school leavers from Lawas parliamentary constituency have to seek tertiary or technical skills education outside the constituency annually and it’s elected representative Datuk Henry Sum Agong said it was high time this should problem be addressed by setting up an institute here.

“Right now, our school leavers have to continue their education in institutes located from Miri to Kuching as there are none offering at least diploma level qualification in here,” he said at the presentation of RM735,800 in government students aid here on Friday.

He pointed out that an institute offering technical skills subjects was vital for the district to churn out competitive human capital.

“We need a stability in population to move forward but the annual exodus has an unhealthy consequence in the long run as many who succeed outside may not return home,” he said.

On the early issuance of schooling aid for next year, which was approved by the BN Government in Budget 2012, he said the presentation yesterday was in accordance to the announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

“Much more assistance could be channeled to the people if the BN Government continues to rule, and it has a proven record of fulfilling pledges made unlike the Opposition-ruled states which have faced problems,” he said.

On another matter, Henry said the government’s rural transformation programme would improve life among the rural population in areas such as Lawas district.

On the UPSR 2011 results for Lawas district, he said there was much room for improvement and hoped that it would materialise next year.

“We look forward to improvements next year, as SK Ba Kelalan failed to maintain its good results of last year, and there was no straight A achiever from the school this year,” he lamented.

SK Ba Kelalan missed the 100 percent passing percentage by one student and the sharp drop in performance has raised eyebrows but it was reflective of the overall situation in the district where the number of straight A achievers were halved and the passing percentage declined this year.

Lawas district education officer Matzinan Matussin who received the financial aid from Henry said the results in Lawas schools was affected by the poor results in English reflected for example in SK Long Semado where the passing rate plunged from 60 per cent to 20 per cent after 15 students failed the subject.

Also present at the function were Lawas District Headmasters Council chairman Haji Omar Matussin, headmasters and teachers.

Henry Sum presented the students aid to Matzinan who later handed it over to Omar to be distributed accordingly to the respective principals and headmasters in the district.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/11/20/build-tertiary-or-technical-institute-in-lawas-%e2%80%94-henry/#ixzz1ej2MabZ6

by Philip Kiew, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on November 20, 2011, Sunday