Muhiyiddin (second right) visiting the Sandakan Vocational College yesterday.
SANDAKAN: Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhiyiddin Yassin has approved the construction of a new building for Sandakan Vocational College here yesterday.
He said RM60 million will be allocated for its construction at the proposed 28 hectares of land at Sandakan Education Hub in Sungai Batang Road Off Mile 10 here.
The college was built on 2.45 hectares of land located at Mile 1.5 and is currently able to accommodate 125 students only.
Muhiyiddin, who is also the Minister of Education said, with the construction of the new building, the college would be able to accommodate the increasing number of applicants.
“Based on the 126,000 applicants who wanted to enrol in vocational studies, this indicates that the field has become the main option for students to further their studies after completing Form Three.
“Therefore, in order to turn the vocational field into the main option for students to further their studies, the government will look further into extending more allocation for vocational education,” he said.
Muhiyiddin said the vocational field had a good prospect to meet the need for trained manpower which was increasing due to the economy’s expansion.
All sectors of the economy needed many trained manpower, and this also applied in the private sector, noted Muhyiddin.
The deputy prime minister said the capacity of students in vocational colleges was currently limited to meet the increasing demand.
“I have looked at it more closely, and the matter has been discussed in the Cabinet. The prime minister gave strong support to increase the capacity of students at vocational colleges,” he added.
Muhyiddin said the Education Ministry would also provide additional allocations to build more vocational colleges in the country.
Meanwhile, Muhiyiddin announced an allocation of RM1 million for Sandakan Vocational College for improvement while waiting for the new building to be completed.
He had also visited the college earlier and was briefed by Ministry of Education Technical and Vocational Director, Datuk Haji Ahmad Tajuddin Bin Jab.
During the visit, he was accompanied by Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Haji Aman, Deputy Minister of Education, Datuk Mary Yap Kain Ching and State Director of Education, Datuk Jame Alip. His arrival at the school was also welcomed by local leaders, educators and students.