Abang Johari (left) being warmly received by Prof Khairuddin at UTS.
A TOTAL of RM15.7mil in scholarships and financial aid have been given to students of University of Technology Sarawak (UTS) by the state government this year.
UTS vice-chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Khairuddin Abdul Hamid said RM837,000 of the amount was for registration fees while RM9.3mil covered foundation courses.
“Around RM5mil was given to undergraduates and a total of RM432,000 was given to postgraduate students.
“About 2,400 students at UTS received full scholarships this year,” said Prof Khairuddin.
He was speaking during Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg’s visit to meet state government scholarship recipients at UTS.
Prof Khairuddin said the scholarships to help young people continue their studies at UTS would continue to increase from year to year.
“This is only the first year of the aid programme.”
He said the university initially aimed to recruit 1,000 students but enrolment had now reached almost 1,500 students.
This, he said, was due to the scholarships that had attracted many young Sarawakians to study at UTS. The university is owned by Sarawak government.
“Thank you to all parties who helped promote UTS including chairman Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee, wakil rakyat, the UTS board of directors and Sarawak Foundation,” said Prof Khairuddin.
Abang Johari in his speech said UTS gave opportunities to poor Sarawakian youths who could not further their studies elsewhere due to financial constraints.
“Education is the key to success.”
He said the state, through UTS, aimed to produce Sarawakian graduates in science and technology.
He added that these graduates could develop new technologies with great potential as a new source of income for Sarawak.
