KUCHING: Both fresh school leavers and preschool teachers can pursue formal education by earning their Early Childhood Education Diploma under Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI).
Rosey Yunus
This alternative route being made available in the state will give opportunity to current preschool teachers to get their formal qualification, and fulfil the government’s aim to have more diploma holders in preschool.
Early Childhood Education and Family Development Assistant Minister Rosey Yunus said this initiative would open up the gate further for more locals to pursue Early Childhood Education as a career.
“This is also a good opportunity for existing preschool teachers to get trained right in their own ‘backyard’,” she added, when receiving a delegation from UPSI Holdings Sdn Bhd (UHSB), the company running the programme.
UHSB chief operating officer Dr Abdul Raheem Mohamad Yusof said the programme was being used in several states in Peninsular Malaysia.
“It is time to bring it over to Sarawak and Sabah. In Sarawak, we want to develop it in several main locations such as Sibu, Miri, Bintulu and Kuching. We received a total of 70 applications from Sibu alone. Each cohort only takes 40 students,” he said.
The response they get at the UPSI campus is overwhelming. Some 10,000 hopefuls apply for the weekend programme, but they could only accept about 100 students.
“UPSI will place experienced trainers in the state to train participants in the programme. Examinations and assignments will be handled by the Education and Human Development Faculty at UPSI Tanjung Malim,” Abdul Raheem added.
Classes are conducted on Saturdays and Sundays for 14 weeks.
Those interested in being part of the Kuching programme can look for UPSI at the State Education Department Auditorium at Jalan Bako at 10pm on Oct 12.
Further information can be obtained from Mohd Hajat Saifullah Nahar (013-4772048) or Mohd Hanif Jamsari (013-5302440).
Application forms can be downloaded from http://upsiholdings.upsi.edu.my.