LAWAS: The Sarawak Government's commitment to empowering education continues to be strengthened despite the sector being under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government, as an effort to produce quality human capital capable of driving the state's future development.

Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan said that the state government has never compromised on the issue of education development and continues to implement various strategic initiatives including the provision of financial assistance, infrastructure development and expanding access to higher education.

According to him, the Sarawak Government is committed to ensuring that no Sarawakian drops out of furthering their studies due to financial constraints.

“The Sarawak Government does not want to see Sarawakians drop out of furthering their education just because of financial constraints. That is why we have introduced various aids including the Sarawak Free Tertiary Education Scheme (FTES), scholarships, educational assistance and allowances for deserving students.

“For the Sarawak Government, education is a significant long-term investment because only through education can we produce quality, skilled and competitive human capital that will determine the future of Sarawak as a developed state with high income,” he said.

He said this when officiating the FTES Education Expo and the Lawas District Level MADANI Education Carnival 2026 at the Lawas Indoor Stadium, on Saturday.

Elaborating further, Datuk Amar Awang Tengah said the Sarawak Government was also strengthening technical education and skills training through the Centre of Technology Excellence Sarawak (CENTEXS), including empowering CENTEXS Lawas as a training hub capable of meeting the needs of industries in the northern region of Sarawak.

He said the state’s economic landscape was now evolving towards high-tech industries, green economy, digital transformation and artificial intelligence (AI), therefore encouraging the younger generation to choose fields of study in line with the needs of the job market.

“Choose fields that are in high demand such as engineering, information technology, accounting, semiconductors and technical fields because these are the skills needed to drive Sarawak's development in the future.

“Be confident in your own abilities. Education can change lives. With knowledge, skills and a good attitude, Sarawakian children can compete at the national and international levels,” he said.

In a related development, he informed that the Northern Regional Development Agency (NRDA) has allocated RM160 million to implement a project to repair and build new educational facilities throughout the Limbang Division, including Lawas.

The allocation will be used to create a more conducive learning environment through the construction of new buildings and upgrading existing school facilities.

In addition, the Sarawak Land and Survey Department is currently collaborating with Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) to offer courses related to surveying, in addition to discussing with the management of CENTEXS Lawas to introduce new courses that meet the needs of the industry.

Meanwhile, Lawas District Education Officer Pengiran Kadir Pengiran Budin said the expo was organised to provide exposure to students and SPM and STPM graduates on opportunities to pursue higher education, in addition to disseminating information related to FTES, scholarships and educational assistance provided by the Sarawak Government.

The programme brought together the participation of various higher learning institutions, government agencies and strategic partners who provided educational exhibitions, sponsorship briefings, educational talks, career sharing and various activities to help students plan their educational and career paths.

Also present were Lawas Member of Parliament Dato Henry Sum Agong, Batu Danau Assemblyman Datuk Paulus Palu Gumbang, Deputy Director of the Education Division of Yayasan Sarawak Chunggat Leonard Doo, Lawas District Officer Ladin Atok and Political Secretary to the Sarawak Premier Awangku Jinal Abidin Datuk Pengiran Haji Jawa. -UKASnews