IPOH: Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) leavers from the Orang Asli community will be offered to continue their studies at the Industrial Training Institutes (ILPs) for free.
Human Resource Minister M. Kulasegaran said the move was one of the efforts to encourage more SPM leavers from the Orang Asli community to get involved in Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to equip themselves with the skills to gain employment opportunities.
He said, currently, those who wanted to pursue the certificate-level courses at ILPs would be charged RM700 that would include tuition fees as well as other school materials such as uniforms and shoes.
“We are now providing the opportunity to Orang Asli youth so they will not be charged RM700 as the fees will be borne fully by the government.
“Apart from free meals, they will also be given a monthly allowance of RM100,” he said after officiating a TVET programme briefing for students and parents in the Orang Asli Community at thePerak Orang Asli Education Centre at Kampung Kerawat, Simpang Pulai, about 25km from here.
Kulasegaran, who is also Ipoh Barat MP, said the government would also be relaxing the ILPs’ entry requirements for Orang Asli youth by excluding the need to pass Bahasa Melayu, History, Mathematics and one other subject in SPM.
“We are giving them a great opportunity. As long as they know how to read and write, we will offer them the right courses to study,” he said, describing the move as an incredible incentive to the Orang Asli community, which was still lagging behind in various aspects.
Kulasegaran also gave his assurance that the Orang Asli community would be given priority in employment opportunities to reduce poverty.
He also expressed his commitment to help overcome the telecommunications problems in Kampung Kerawat by bringing up the issue to the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia. - BERNAMA