SARAWAK STRENGTHENS PUSH FOR EDUCATION AUTONOMY – DR ANNUAR

KUCHING, May 7 (Bernama) -- Sarawak is strengthening its push for education autonomy based on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), which is embedded in the Federal Constitution, according to a state deputy minister.

State Deputy Minister for Education, Innovation and Talent Development I (Education and Innovation) Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee said the matter is stipulated in Paragraph 17, Chapter 2 of the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) Report.

He said the paragraph stated that all education policies in the state must be made in consultation with the state government, despite being administered by federal officers.

“Although the state education director is a federal officer, all policies must be made in consultation with the state government. This is clearly outlined in the IGC (Report), and it has now become law,” he said.

He said this to reporters after witnessing a Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) exchange ceremony between i-Cats University College and the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Institution here today.

According to him, Sarawak has submitted 15 key items in its negotiations for greater autonomy, which have been tabled in the Dewan Rakyat and are progressing well.

“Among the most important are the use of English in schools and the authority for the state director to approve development projects.

“Previously, even for RTP projects using our own funds, we had to get approval from Kuala Lumpur. Now, the state director can approve them,” Dr Annuar said.

He also noted that cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Education has improved significantly, including allowing Sarawak to implement its own Primary 6 examination, following the abolition of the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah.

“This shows we now have good cooperation. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have allowed us to conduct our own exam,” he said.

-- BERNAMA