KOTA KINABALU: A Sabah MP has urged the Higher Education Ministry to offer more bachelor’s degree programmes at the Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) campus in the Sandakan east coast district.
Sandakan MP Vivian Wong Shir Yee said there was a need to diversify the undergraduate courses at the campus as there were only three programmes being offered presently.
After UMS established the Sustainable Agriculture Faculty at its Sandakan campus in Sungai Batang in 2006, she said, it only has three undergraduate courses, namely Crop Production, Horticulture and Landscaping, and Livestock Production to be proud of until now.
She said that according to statistics from the Education Ministry obtained in 2019, only 398 students enrolled at the Sandakan UMS campus, despite it being able to accommodate up to 1,000 students at any given time.
“The limited courses at the Sandakan campus make it tough for students who are eligible to pursue their studies at the university level to fulfil their aspirations
“Hence, I would like to suggest to the ministry (Higher Education) to increase the number of programmes at Sandakan UMS by moving the faculties of Science and Natural Resources as well as Tropical Forestry from the Kota Kinabalu campus to the Sandakan campus,” Wong said.
She said this when delivering her speech on the proposal on the issue in the Special Chambers in Parliament Wednesday (Feb 15).
By moving these faculties, which offered a total of 14 courses to Sandakan, Wong said, students would have an array of subjects to choose from, adding these courses were the answer to the sectors in the district which needed specific know-how and manpower.
For example, she said, the Sabah Forestry Department’s headquarters was located in Sandakan, adding it has facilities established in the Sepilok and Imbak Canyon conservation areas and the Deramakot Forest Reserve.
The bachelor’s degree courses being offered by the Science and Natural Resources Faculty presently were industrial physics, geology, marine science, mathematics and economy, and biotechnology, among others.
On the other hand, programmes such as international tropical forestry, agroforestry, biological conservation and sustainable forest management were among those being offered by the Tropical Forestry Faculty.
In his reply, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khalid Nordin said the Sandakan UMS campus residence could accommodate up to 1,000 students.
However, the amenities and learning facilities were still insufficient despite being fully utilised.
Following that, he said, UMS has submitted an application for a project to build a new lecture hall at a cost of RM55.5mil under the Third Rolling Plan 2023 of the 12th Malaysia Plan.
He added that the ministry has vetted this application and was still waiting for approval from the Economy Ministry.
