SANDAKAN: The Higher Education Ministry (MOHE) will launch a new 10-year higher education plan starting this year, said its Deputy Minister Datuk Mustapha Sakmud.
He said the 2025-2035 plan will focus on new technology, especially artificial intelligence (AI).
“We can’t run away from new technologies. Now people are talking about AI engineers, we also need lawyers and accountants who understand AI, as well as preachers who understand AI.
“This is a new phenomenon and we want graduates, whether in universities or educational institutions and technical and vocational training (TVET), to be able to adapt to future technological challenges,” he told reporters after officiating the Jom Masuk U 2025 Sabah Zone programme, here, Saturday.
Twenty public universities, several private universities and two TVET institutions are participating in the two-day programme that ends today (Sunday).
Meanwhile, Mustapha said students from families that had financial difficulties who wish to further their studies could agree to accept a loan advance when applying to public universities at the UPU Online website.
“An advance of RM1,500 from the National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN) will be given, which will make preparations easier, we don’t want a repeat of our students, children from Sandakan having to use gunny sacks to register,” he said.
He added that students from lower income families need not worry about university entrance fees as there was a ministry policy to defer registration fees till the student could obtain financing.
“We want to send a message that entering university comes with many federal and state incentives and the MOHE also provides facilities.
“We have six sponsor programmes, one of them related to helping people with disabilities,” he said.