KUALA LUMPUR: Yayasan Sabah has given its assurance that the welfare of students from Sabah who have been offered scholarships to further their secondary education in the peninsula will be taken care of.
Its Kuala Lumpur branch manager Zaidah Hussain said she was fully aware of the concern among parents who have to let their 13 years old children to travel across the South China Sea to further their education for five years here.
When met by Bernama at her office in Ampang recently, she said based on her experience interviewing students and parents who applied for the scholarships in all parts of the state, almost 70 per cent of them did not agree to send their children or further their studies in the peninsula.
She said this could be attributed to several factors, including parents fear that their children would become a bully victim, long distance for extended periods of time and better educational infrastructure in the state.
Zaidah said all the students sponsored by Yayasan Sabah were taken good care of and all their affairs from the moment they received the offer were fully managed by the foundation.
In fact, she said every parent and scholarship recipient would be sufficiently briefed on the process of handling students, prior to being brought here.
“Once they agree to accept the offer, we will give them a briefing on payment of fees, scholarships and other matter related to students’ welfare. Yayasan Sabah will also provide flight tickets as well as transportation for students who do not have their own transport,” she said.
Zaidah said all Form 1 students who arrived in the capital would be placed in a building owned by Yayasan Sabah which is equipped with hostel and sports facilities, for three days.
She said the building would also serve as a ‘home’ for the students during school holidays.
In addition, Zaidah said Yayasan Sabah would once a year provide free transportation for students to return to their hometowns.
“Yayasan Sabah has also appointed a special teacher to look after the welfare of its sponsored students in each school. These teachers will be assigned to handle matters related to fees, textbooks and other student affairs according to school requirements,” she said.
This year, a total of 111 Sabahan students received scholarships from Yayasan Sabah, to pursue their secondary education at secondary schools in the peninsula.
Yayasan Sabah spends about RM7,000 for each of its sponsored students a year and the amount includes flight tickets, school fees, pocket money and school holiday programmes.
Yayasan Sabah was established through Enactment 8 of Sabah State Legislative Assembly in 1966 with the objective of providing scholarships and loans to students in need, as well as for students who excel academically to further their studies locally and abroad.- Bernama
