TUNAS CEMERLANG UPLIFT KOTA MARUDU CYBERSAFE

SCIENCE, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Maximus Ongkili said education in Kota Marudu was one of his priorities in ensuring the progress of the community and constituency.

He said this at the closing ceremony and presentation of certificates at the Tunas Cemerlang 2.0: CyberSAFE Mentor programme conducted by CyberSecurity Malaysia, an agency of his ministry.

Dr. Ongkili said that Kota Marudu has and will continue to benefit from efforts to provide rural schools with education infrastructure and facilities. He disclosed over the past five years there has been much progress in education in Kota Marudu, including the planned establishment of a community college to serve northern Sabah, the construction of five new school buildings and seven rural hostels, as well as the distribution of 1Malaysia netbooks to over 5,500 students.

He added that schools no longer have to share their premises with other schools as was the practice previously. He cited three schools, namely SMK Bengkongan, SMK Bandau and SMK Langkon that had to share their premises.

“SMK Bengkongan now has its own building beginning  this year, SMK Bandau’s school building is almost completed and the new SMK Langkon is under construction,” he said.

However, Ongkili said the people cannot depend solely on the government to provide education.

“So we also asked our corporate friends and NGOs to assist us to meet some of the needs of our rural children, especially thse who live fr from the schools.

To date Kota Marudu has seven rural hostels built for primary schools. Hostels for secondary schools are  provided by the government.

“We are working towards getting more corporate bodies  to provide scholarships for Kota Marudu students,” he said.

Tunas Cemerlang 2.0: CyberSAFE Mentor programme is an ongoing effort of CyberSecurity Malaysia to educate the public on cyber security issues. The aim is to  get college students to spread cyber awareness among the younger generation. There were 40 students from Sabah Foundation College involved as mentors to  over 100 high school students from SMK Bengkongan under this programme.

He also announced that Kota Marudu will have a Community College that will be built beginning next week. (Insight Sabah)