Luqmanul Hakeem
Nur Zakirah Jasni
KUCHING: School leavers continue to benefit from education carnivals where they can explore higher education options that cater to their interests and budgets with ease.
Over 60 higher education providers from both local and overseas are participating in the two-day Mara Education Fair 2013 at the Permata Exhibition Hall here, beginning yesterday.
Luqmanul Hakeem, 18, from Sematan purposely took a bus down yesterday morning to look for potential colleges to continue his studies.
“I’ve signed up with the German-Malaysian Institute to pursue a Diploma in Industrial Electronics,” the former Maktab Rendah Sain Mara (MRSM) student told The Borneo Post of his fruitful search yesterday.
“My interests are in electronic and information technology. And the German-Malaysian Institute is one of the best colleges that offer such a course,” he said.
Luqmanul said the carnival was great and convenient for school leavers to find the right course at a single location.
Meanwhile, Luqmanul’s schoolmate Nur Zakirah Jasni, who has no idea yet on what course to pursue, found the carnival extremely informative particularly in helping her plan ahead.
“I found out about new courses being offered which I’ve never heard of before. So it was good, as it gives me an idea of the options I have,” said the 18-year-old.
“I was looking at the maritime related courses and I think it could be the right course to pursue,” she added.
Nur Zakirah was unsure of her interest, which did not help to narrow down the fields she could venture into, but that was fine with her as she wanted to explore all available options.
“I think it is not necessarily about interest. I think we have to look at the industries in demand now and pursue one of them which will probably give me a better opportunity to start a career,” she said.
Nur Zakirah said she would go back and discuss with her parents before making her final decision.
The carnival, which will end today, gives school leavers the opportunity to obtain information and guidance on study options and career development.
A wide spectrum of programmes in diplomas, degrees, master degrees as well as vocational trainings for various industries including healthcare, engineering, education, hospitality, medicine and more are available.
The exhibitors include Segi University, Curtin University, Giatmara Malaysia, The University of Nottingham, Malaysia Aviation Training Academy, Allianze University College of Medical Sciences, Monash University, University Selangor (Unisel), University Tun Abdul Razak, Universiti Putra Malaysia and Unitar International University.