Kota Kinabalu: School principals must be courageous and take the initiative to link schools with industries so students in Sabah can see a future for themselves, said Sabah Secondary School Principals Association President Nuzie Balus.
“The most important thing is initiative, determination and the courage to act. We must dare to talk to students about the importance of knowledge and the skills they want to achieve,” he said.
“When students are 17 and walk out of the school gate, I want them to leave smiling with a full certificate,” he told the Ideas Playground 2026 Sabah Education and Industry Town Hall here.
Ideas Playground 2026 was jointly organised by OOZE and Daily Express.
Nuzie was among the panellists invited to discuss how schools could better meet industry needs and what opportunities awaited Sabah’s children.
The session was moderated by subject matter expert in educational leadership, research and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-related programmes, Dr Fetty Shamy Lin Yahaya.
Nuzie said many students rushed home after classes to work, with some earning RM200 to RM300 by climbing coconut trees or helping out at village workshops.
“Some tell teachers they will come only on exam days, a conflict schools sometimes face,” he said.
“We should look outside the gate at industries that can help, such as farming, mining and car and motorcycle workshops.
“We can invite small entrepreneurs to the school to add value, even if it is not related to the subjects offered. We are asking for contributions of ideas, not money, because we want success to be seen in five to 10 years,” he said.
He said urban schools had wider opportunities because industries often provided schools with opportunities to expose students to their working environments.
However, visits required departmental approval for safety reasons, while school leaders also consulted their Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) when seeking mutually beneficial partnerships, including those involving donations.
“There are some students in Form Four and Form Five who have yet to master reading, writing and arithmetic,” he said.
“We must start from Form One and Form Two, and even primary school needs a strong foundation. We encourage students to learn through projects, so they can create something the teacher never taught in class,” he said.
He said teachers tended to focus on Form Four and Form Five students sitting for public examinations, although some were not yet ready for the next stage.
He said his school promoted science and technology projects, allowing students to use their phones to create and learn rather than merely play games.
“Our motorcycle servicing class is the only one in Sabah and 100 per cent of its students pass the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia.
“Some believe the class is only for the middle or weaker students, but that perception is wrong. It is not easy to service a motorcycle, because it is more than changing the oil or the spark plug,” he said.
He praised the efforts of a school in Semporna that recently sent three teachers to learn how the class delivered its skills training.
He also welcomed additional funding from relevant departments to establish similar classes, which students from neighbouring schools could also attend.
“Take for example, students in Taiwan learn through observation and visits to factories around their schools and universities.
“Parents want their children to be doctors or engineers, but they do not see their children’s potential,” he added.
He said he had observed the Taiwan approach during a visit there and urged counsellors to assess students’ career interests at an early stage.
He also highlighted the Kebun Dapur project, which provided fruit trees to schools, saying teachers could use them as learning resources for science lessons.
