SANDAKAN: A new 10-year education plan focusing on new technology, especially artificial intelligence (AI) will be launched, says Higher Education deputy minister Datuk Mustapha Sakmud.
The plan will cover 2025 to 2035, he said.
“We cannot run away from new technologies and now people are talking about AI engineers; we also need lawyers and accountants who understand AI, as well as preachers who understand AI.
“This is a new phenomenon, and we want graduates – whether from universities, educational institutions, or Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) – to emerge equipped to adapt to future technological challenges,” he told reporters after launching the Jom Masuk U 2025 Sabah Zone programme here yesterday, Bernama reported.
Twenty public universities, several private universities and two TVET institutions are participating in the two-day programme that ends today.
Meanwhile, Mustapha said students from families that had financial difficulties who wished to further their studies could agree to accept a loan advance when applying to public universities at the UPU Online website.
“An advance of RM1,500 from the National Higher Education Fund will be given, which will make preparations easier; we don’t want a repeat of our students, children from Sandakan, having to use gunny sacks to register,” he said.
Mustapha added that students from lower-income families need not worry about university entrance fees, as there was a policy to defer registration fees until they could obtain financing.
“We want to send a message that entering university comes with many federal and state incentives, and the Higher Education Ministry also provides facilities. We have six sponsorship programmes, one of which is related to helping people with disabilities,” he said.
