Manyin (fifth left), Sarinah (fifth right) and other guests join the winners for a photo.
KUCHING: The Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Research (MESTR) will hold a statewide roadshow to promote technical and vocational education.
Its minister Dato Sri Michael Manyin Jawong said his ministry had discussed the matter with vocational colleges and polytechnics in Sarawak to jointly organise this roadshow.
“This is so that parents understand about technical and vocational education, and to know its potential. In the Fourth Industrial Revolution, those of you with technical education are most required,” he said when officiating at the Sarawak-zone KV Skills and Students Innovation Competition at Kolej Vokasional (KV) Kuching Friday.
He pointed out that technical and vocational education has long been highly regarded in developed countries, especially Germany, where those with skills certifications are highly sought after while the institutions there work closely with industries.
“The world has changed. Don’t think that vocational school is for the failures. Look at Singapore, those after Form 3 can go to vocational school and then go on to pursue degrees,” he said.
Having said that, he also hoped that Sarawakians would also improve their English proficiency so that they will be more marketable in the job market.
He explained that most manuals to operate machines are in English and therefore mastering English is important for one to properly operate the machine he or she is assigned to.
“This is why the Sarawak government took up the challenge to implement the programme to teach Mathematics and Science in English in Primary One next year so that our younger generation can master this language,” he said, adding an allocation of RM11 million had been approved by the State Cabinet to train more than 2,000 teachers for this purpose.
Meanwhile, a total 88 students from eight KVs throughout Sarawak took part in 11 categories during the competiton held for three days mostly at KV Kuching, Jalan Batu Lintang here.
Principal assistant director of technical, vocational and engineering training (TVET) management from Ministry of Education, Sarinah Mohd Sari, who spoke earlier said the winners will represent Sarawak at the national level competition.
“We hope some of them will have the golden touch and win for Sarawak,” she added.