MEDICO-TOURISM PAVES THE WAY FOR SPIRALLING HEALTH COST

Tertiary education must remain affordable

Door of opportunities must be open to all, says Deputy Prime Minister

BORNEOPOSTONLINE

PUTRAJAYA: Tertiary education must remain affordable and not only for certain people but for all, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said yesterday.




“This must be the clarion call resonating to all Malaysians; let us open the door of opportunities for all.

“Let us ensure tertiary education remains affordable and make the challenges not only the concerns of the government but also of the private sector and individuals who must contribute their fair share,” he said at the signing of an agreement between West Synergy Sdn Bhd and UCSI Education Sdn Bhd for the establishment of an education township in Negeri Sembilan yesterday.

Najib said in an era of cut throat competition between nations, economies, regional blocs and companies over shrinking markets and depleting resources, Malaysians needed a mindset change, “one that sees post-secondary education, particularly tertiary, not as a luxury but a necessity”.

“We cannot afford to have a workforce with inadequate knowledge and skills. Otherwise, we will fail to exploit a global market that is increasingly dependent on the knowledge economy.

“Therefore, it is imperative for our survival as a nation that we produce those with the right skills and the right knowledge.”

Najib said by encouraging the private sector to play a more pro-active role in tertiary education, more young people in the 17-23 age group have had the opportunity to attain higher education.

“Hopefully, we will be able to achieve our target of 40 per cent in this age group to have access to higher education by 2010,” he added.

The agreement on establishing the education township was signed by UCSI group president and vice-chancellor Peter Ng and West Synergy chairman Wong Aun Phui.

The township on a 64ha site in Bandar Springhill, Negeri Sembilan will be developed in three phases and expected to be completed in 2016.

Ng, in his speech, said the first phase would see the building of a fully-equipped international school with residential facilities and a state-of-the-art, 500-bed medical centre.

This will be followed by the development of the main campus of UCSI which would house the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Management and Information Technology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Centre for Pre-University Studies and a centre dedicated to continuous research into Blue Ocean Strategy.

The third phase will see the setting up of an incubation centre for UCSI’s subsidiaries and spin-off companies resulting from its research and discovery efforts, an applied nursery for research and commercial facilities for the green industry to promote eco-tourism in Malaysia.