KUALA LUMPUR – The government is considering an initial fee of RM800 for technical and vocational education and training (TVET) to enable more youth, especially the Orang Asli, to participate in the programme.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said high fees could be one of the constraints on youth participation in the programme.
“If we can consider this to help them, maybe more youth, especially the Orang Asli, will participate in vocational training,” he said during Minister’s Question Time at the Dewan Rakyat today.
He was responding to a question by Young Syefura Othman (Bentong-PH) on the government’s initiatives to increase youth participation in TVET, especially from rural areas and Orang Asli.
Fadillah added that TVET is a lifelong learning process in which students can participate not only in long-term courses, but also in short-term programmes that include basic training in a particular field.
He was replying to a supplementary question by Mohd Misbahul Munir Masduki (Parit Buntar-PN) on whether the government intends to add or organise short-term TVET programmes for the youth.
Referring to the latest data from Unesco that only 5% of Malaysian youth are participating in TVET, Fadillah said this statement refers to youth aged 15 to 24.
“It takes into account the country’s youth population in the same age group of six million people, based on statistics of the Statistics Department.
“The data given by Unesco are in line with enrollment statistics for 2021 which show that the number of youth in the same age category participating in the TVET programme totalled 360,000 people,” he said.
At the same time, Fadillah said that as announced in Budget 2023, the government is targeting to sign 50 memoranda of agreement (MoA) with the industry and government-linked companies (GLCs) this year.
For a start, 10 MoAs will be concluded with GLCs and private companies for the implementation of high-impact TVET programmes, with the agreements serving as overarching platforms for GLCs and private companies to collaborate with the government. – Bernama, February 28, 2023
