No objection to Sarawak's FTES
PUTRAJAYA: The federal government has no objection to the Sarawak government's initiative to provide free higher education to its people through state-owned higher education institutions (IPTs), said Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir.
He said the decision was within the rights and capacity of the state government to channel educational assistance to Sarawakian students and should not be questioned by any party.
'It is an initiative made by the state government. So we have no objection to the efforts being made because the Sarawak government has the ability,' he told reporters after attending the 'Karisma Pemimpin Muda Madani 2025' programme here today.
Zambry said the federal government remains open to collaborating with any state government to enhance the quality of education in the country, including in the field of higher education.
'We are also aware that in the context of the federal government, we always work with any state in efforts to further improve the quality of education, whether at the primary education level or the higher education level,' he said.
Commenting further, Zambry said it was a decision by the Sarawak government based on the state's strong financial position.
He said the question for further studies on the policy does not arise as long as it did not involve constitutional issues or contravene existing laws.
The Sarawak Cabinet on March 20 approved a proposal paper for the implementation of the Sarawak Free Tertiary Education Scheme (FTES), which will be implemented starting next year.
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