KUCHING: Sarawak's free tertiary education scheme (FTES) has reached 4,694 students at four state-owned institutions, Deputy Minister Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee said on Tuesday (May 12).
Annuar said the total included existing students and those who enrolled before March 31.
"The number of recipients will increase after the June and September enrolment. We are targeting 10,000 students in Sarawak to enjoy free tertiary education this year," he told Safiee Ahmad (GPS-Daro) during question time in the Sarawak Legislative Assembly.
He said 172 students attended i-CATS University College, 543 attended Curtin University Malaysia, 1,959 attended Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak, and 2,020 attended University of Technology Sarawak.
Annuar said 1,433 students declined FTES because they already held scholarships they could not breach.
"We have fiscal reserves, financial management and surplus budget to ensure that FTES will continue,” he said.
He said the state started FTES this year with RM250mil under the 2026 state budget.
He said the scheme covered 64 undergraduate degree programmes in STEM-related fields, law, medicine, accounting, finance, and psychology.
