LANGKAWI: A new ecosystem in education, mainly in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), must be accelerated to achieve the aim of producing 60,000 highly skilled engineers, says Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The Deputy Prime Minister said student intake into engineering programmes must also be increased and given more focus.
“The country currently needs 60,000 engineers but we are only able to produce about 6,000 a year.
“We must expedite the development of a new learning ecosystem to meet this target.
“We will also focus on school leavers from fully residential schools, besides Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM) and private Maahad Tahfiz, to promote engineering,” he told reporters after witnessing the signing of five Memoranda of Agreement between Universiti Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Institute of Aviation Technology (UniKL MIAT) and five industry players in conjunction with the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (Lima’25) here yesterday, Bernama reported.
Ahmad Zahid said more Maahad Tahfiz graduates will be recruited to pursue engineering programmes at UniKL and Universiti Poly-Tech Malaysia (UPTM), especially in the aerospace field.
He said there are currently 1,962 students enrolled in aerospace courses at UniKL, including 129 huffaz graduates from Maahad Tahfiz Ulul Albab.
“I am grateful that these huffaz students are well-received not only by UniKL MIAT but also by industry players, as they are able to grasp the syllabus introduced to them and adapt quickly in practical settings,” he said.
