Scholarship for 31 Indonesian students from Sabah CLCs
Published on: Fri, Jul 11, 2025
By: Lagatah Toyos Text Size: Aris bidding farewell to the students during their send-off ceremony. TAWAU: The Republic of Indonesia (KRI) Consulate in Tawau has sent 31 graduates from various Community Learning Centres (CLC) in Sabah to further their studies in Indonesia. Indonesian Consul in Tawau, Aris Heru Utomo, said the students are recipients of the 2025 Generasi Maju Cinta Tanah Air (Gema Cita) scholarship and will pursue their education at four senior high schools (Sekolah Lanjutan Tingkat Atas, SLTA) in North Kalimantan Province (Kaltara). He said five students will study at SMA St Gabriel Nunukan, another five at SMK Negeri 1 Nunukan, 10 at SMK Negeri 1 Sebatik Barat and 11 at SMK Mutiara Bangsa in Sebatik. A formal send-off ceremony for the students was held at the KRI Tawau, before their departure from Tawau Port to Tunon Taka Port in Nunukan. Prior to their departure, the students participated in a four-day orientation camp conducted by Sekolah Indonesia Kota Kinabalu (SIKK) to help them prepare and avoid culture shock or homesickness while studying abroad. In his speech, Aris urged the students to make the most of this educational opportunity to realise their ambitions in various fields, as obtaining the Gema Cita scholarship is highly competitive. He said the students had to compete with more than 1,500 graduates from SIKK and CLCs this year, while the scholarship allocation was only for 754 students. 'Make full use of your time throughout your education at SLTA not only by studying but also by participating in extracurricular and leadership activities from an early stage,' he said. Meanwhile, accompanying teacher Syamsul Adil said since the scholarship programme began in 2013, a total of 4,036 CLC students in Sabah have benefitted. He said these students have continued their education across 11 regions in Indonesia – Banten, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, East Java, Lampung, South Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, Bali, South Sulawesi and West Nusa Tenggara. This year, the programme has added another region, East Nusa Tenggara, bringing the total to 12 regions. He added that for the 2024/2025 session, there were over 1,500 junior secondary (SMP) CLC graduates from Sabah. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
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