KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 (Bernama) — Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) was among the topics raised during the debate on the Supply Bill 2023 today, with one Member of Parliament suggesting that the government make it compulsory for investors to hire TVET graduates.
Dr Siti Mastura Muhammad (PN-Kepala Batas) said such a policy was needed to ensure TVET graduates were given a chance to enter the labour market in line with the Sixth Thrust of Budget 2023, which is to strengthen cooperation between the public and private sectors.
“Generally, they are creative and skilful; it is only that they were not given opportunities to venture into a skills field of their choice,” she said in the Dewan Rakyat.
Sim Tze Tzin (PH-Bayan Baru) asked the Human Resources Ministry to set a reasonable starting salary for university graduates from science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses as well as TVET graduates.
“When I graduated 20 years ago, the salary of an engineer was RM2,000. Now an engineering graduate is getting only RM2,500. It doesn’t make sense that a TVET graduate in STEM is getting a minimum salary of RM1,500. Who would want to pick STEM?” he said.
Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (PN-Kuala Kangsar) urged the Education Ministry (KPM) to scrutinise the implementation of TVET, claiming that some institutions were “underutilised” and that data showed students lacked interest in taking up TVET.
“Apart from a lack of promotion, (availability of) many jobs in the gig sector are also seen as a factor in deterring youths from pursuing TVET education. I hope this matter can be rectified,” he said.
Sabri Azit (PN-Jerai) suggested that KPM upgrade the Identity Management System (idME) to make it user-friendly and effective in facilitating the learning process.
“An issue frequently raised by teachers is that idME was reported to be still unstable and not yet suitable for use, including hosting final academic session examination results. This situation does not include the heavy traffic, and it should have been implemented in pioneer schools first,” he said.
The House will sit again tomorrow.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency