Chong: Free tertiary education should cover all S’wakian students, not just those at state-owned unis

KUCHING (Dec 20): The Sarawak Free Tertiary Education Scheme (FTES) should not discriminate against Sarawakian students pursuing their studies at non-state-owned universities, said Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman Chong Chieng Jen.

While lauding FTES as a positive initiative, Chong stressed that the scheme should benefit all Sarawakian undergraduates.

“FTES should not discriminate amongst fellow Sarawakian students who are not studying at the four Sarawak government-owned universities, namely Swinburne, Curtin, University of Technology Sarawak and i-CATS,” he said in a statement.

Chong, who is Stampin MP and Padungan assemblyman, noted that Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg had on numerous occasions announced that no Sarawakian should be left behind.

Despite this, he said the FTES that the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government sets to implement next year has left behind some groups of Sarawakian students.

He said those who are studying at public universities throughout the country, including Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Universiti Malaya, Universiti Sainis Malaysia and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia do not benefit from the scheme.

He added that Sarawakian students pursuing tertiary education at private universities, both locally and abroad, are also excluded.

“These groups of students form the majority number of Sarawakian students. They equally need assistance from the state government under the FTES but sadly they were left out by the GPS government under the scheme,” he said.

In the interest of all Sarawakian children and families, Chong proposed that the state government review the FTES.

He suggested that the scheme should fully cover the tuition fees of all Sarawakian students studying in public universities.

“Most of these students only need to pay 10 per cent of their tuition fees as the federal government has subsidised 90 per cent of their tuition fees, thus the amount needs to be paid ranges from RM1,200 to RM3,000 per student.

“The tuition fees of those under direct intake of these public universities are also much cheaper than the tuition fees charged by the four Sarawak government-owned universities,” he pointed out.

Chong also proposed that the state government cover at least half of the tuition fees for Sarawakian students studying at private universities, both locally and overseas.

For the B40 families (or those having a per capita family income of less than RM1,500), he said the state government should provide the same stipend assistance of RM15,000 per student per annum as provided to the students studying in the four state-owned universities.

“They are all Sarawakian boys and girls born to Sarawakian parents. They should not be left out of the FTES,” he said.

Chong Chieng Jen Free Tertiary Education Scheme lead students