BETONG: A total of RM245,000 has been allocated through the Minor Rural Project (MRP) to support educational development and youth activities in the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) Layar constituency.

Of that amount, RM235,000 has been channelled to 11 primary schools and five secondary schools, while the remaining RM10,000 has been allocated to the Betong Tennis Club to support the organisation and implementation of the club's sporting activities.

Sarawak Deputy Minister of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development and Layar Assemblyman, Datuk Gerald Rentap Jabu, said the assistance provided reflects his continued commitment to strengthening the education sector as the foundation for developing quality human capital.

According to him, Sarawak is now in great need of a dynamic and highly skilled workforce to meet the demands of modern industries, in line with the objectives of the state's free education scheme implementation.

"In this regard, I call upon school management, especially Headmasters, to provide early exposure to students regarding career directions, particularly employment opportunities available in Sarawak," he said.

He made these remarks during the MRP cheque presentation ceremony to all schools in the DUN Layar area, held at the DUN Layar Service Centre on Thursday.

In addition, he also encouraged students to continue their studies to Form Six, as the assignment-based and coursework learning system is capable of providing early preparation before pursuing studies at institutions of higher learning.

Datuk Gerald also stressed the importance of close cooperation between parents, schools and elected representatives in ensuring that the educational development of children can be carried out comprehensively.

"We need to collectively shoulder this responsibility to build and produce capable human resources in the Betong district," he added.

Touching on the aspect of education digitalisation, he expressed hope that the initiative of providing free tablets to secondary school students can be fully utilised to enhance the effectiveness of the learning process.

At the same time, he urged educators to make use of modern technology in strengthening the delivery of knowledge and expanding access to higher quality learning resources.

He also reminded schools to prepare working papers earlier to facilitate the process of channelling assistance in the future, while emphasising the importance of practising integrity and transparency in the management of funds received. -UKASnews

Translator : Uilson Ng