KUCHING: Construction of the Yayasan Sarawak residential international secondary school in Sibu is expected to be completed in 2024.
Assistant Minister for Public Health, Housing and Local Government II Michael Tiang said once completed, the school would be able to cater to 500 students from which 80 per cent would be among the B40 group.
He said the state-owned international school was the Sarawak government's initiative to provide free secondary education with the Cambridge Syllabus to the people of Sarawak, especially children from low income families.
"This school aims to give free education to eligible children in the B40 group. The Sarawak government will also set aside 20 per cent of the quota for the non B40 group with a school fee," he said.
"The school will use English as a medium for teaching, but every student is also required to take up one foreign language that is Mandarin," he said after visiting Yayasan Sarawak director Mersal Abang Rosli yesterday.
"Mandarin is the only option and that shows that our Sarawak government not only emphasises English, but also wants the students to learn Mandarin because it is one of the major languages in the Asian region," he pointed out.
Tiang, who is also the Pelawan assemblyman, said a similar international school in Kuching would be ready in March this year.
He said the Sarawak government is allocating about RM15 million for each school, which shows that the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government is committed to invest in the future of the younger generation, making sure that they are educated and more competitive in the global world.
"This is a huge commitment by the Sarawak government to focus on investing in our human capital. I believe this is part of the initiatives to get back our education autonomy," he said.