Fatimah (second right) hands a diploma scroll to one of the graduates witnessed by PMU director Abdubrani.
MUKAH: The perception that technical and vocation education (TVE) and training is for less bright students, who would otherwise be left out of the education mainstream, must be changed.
Welfare, Women and Family Development Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah made this call yesterday when speaking at the Mukah Polytechnic (PMU) 7th Convocation, saying that technical or vocational education was not for less academically-inclined students but was a field that could be mastered by any students.
“Those who have the skills in the vocational field are just the same as those who can master academics; therefore, the perception that vocational education is for less academically-inclined students should be changed, because both have a bright future and vocational students are just as capable in competing and contributing to the nation’s development,” Fatimah said.
She added that the Sarawak government held out high hopes for vocational and technical education institutes in conceiving quality and skilled individuals, citing that 600,000 skilled manpower in the technical fields was needed by 2030 to fulfill the needs of heavy industry, specifically in the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (Score).
“I am confident in the accomplishments, mind models, shared direction as well as the education quality which places PMU as one of the quality choice institutes. Thus, our children of the nation should be defended for they are the inheritors of the nation’s future and what we do today will determine the nation’s competition in the future,” Fatimah quipped, adding that it was important to create awareness about the importance of technical skills in secondary schools.
Meanwhile, Fatimah added that polytechnic institutes have undergone a transformation which can draw the interest of various academic qualifications to further their studies there.
“PMU has worked hard to increase awareness and pull the interest of secondary school students in the offered technical skills, and PMU has held a few programmes with secondary schools around here to give awareness to school-leavers,” she stated.
The convocation ceremony saw a total of 634 graduates receiving their diplomas in civil engineering, mechanical, electronics, Information Technology, administration, accountancy as well as business studies.
Also present were Balingian assemblyman Yussibnosh Balo and PMU director Abdubrani Yunus.