Jaul explains a point on the Post Covid-19 Development Strategy 2030 to Abang Johari. – Photo by Galileo Petingi

KUCHING (Nov 29): Exceptional Sarawakian students will be identified from Form 3 for admissions to Cambridge University, said Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.

He revealed that representatives from Cambridge visited Sarawak last week to review the state’s education initiatives, including Yayasan Sarawak International Secondary School.

During the visit, he requested 10 slots at Cambridge University for Sarawakian students – given the highly competitive standards, he said Cambridge advised that students should be identified from Form 3 onwards.

“They recommended that both Cambridge and our side try to identify students from Form 3. The performance of our students in Form 3 at good schools, including Yayasan International Secondary School, will be monitored.

“Once they complete Form 6 and their A-Levels, they will be ready to go straight to Cambridge, because they have been tracked since Form 3,” he said during the Sarawak Development Institute’s (SDI) 30th anniversary dinner on Friday.

He shared that the university suggested the monitoring process begin with Yayasan International School as a pilot.

Abang Johari said this approach would allow the state to build a clear academic pathway for its brightest students, which in turn would improve the quality of Sarawak’s workforce.

He stressed that the focus will be on United Kingdom universities of high standing, alongside local institutions, to ensure Sarawak produces the “brains that we need” for the future.

“We hope we can produce the talent required, plus those from our local universities, so we have a ready workforce,” he said.

With the introduction of the Ujian Penilaian Dual-Language Programme (UP-DLP) for Primary 6, conducted in collaboration with Cambridge University, he said the results were satisfactory for English language.

However, he lamented that the results for Science fell “below par”.

“In other words, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects are below par.

“If that is the case, we will face problems in sending our students into STEM disciplines. So, the (state) government has to intervene,” he stressed.

As part of its celebration, Abang Johari launched SDI’s special publication titled ‘Sarawak Civil Service Administration and Development: Reflections and Reminiscences over 60 years’.

Among those present were Deputy Minister of Transport Datuk Henry Harry Jinep and SDI chairman Datuk Amar Jaul Samion.