Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin (left) looking at some of the learning tools provided inside the Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (Upsi) Education Bus placed at SMK Tan Sri Jaafar Albar, Sedili, Kota Tinggi. - THOMAS YONG/The Star
KOTA TINGGI: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to universities has nothing to do with the upcoming six state elections, says Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
The Higher Education Minister said the Prime Minister’s visits to universities under the “Temu Anwar” programme was aimed at broadcasting the government’s vision.
“No, this has nothing to do with the state elections. He (Anwar) only wanted to share the government’s vision.
“If you listen to his speech, he wants our students to not only think creatively but also critically.
“He is urging our youth not to be obsessed and to use their rational thinking when making decisions,” he said after the launching ceremony of the Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) Smart Home Schooling at SMK Tan Sri Jaafar Albar, Sedili, here yesterday.
Mohamed Khaled added that the programme was aimed at producing youth who are physically, mentally, and spiritually strong, in line with the Malaysia Madani agenda.
He was earlier asked to comment on Besut MP Che Mohamad Zulkifly Jusoh’s calls for Anwar to stop meeting with students and to focus on managing the country’s economy.
Che Mohamad also claimed that the programme was seen as an open political campaign that aimed to influence students in the upcoming state elections.
On a separate matter, Mohamed Khaled urged local universities to collaborate with district education offices to find ways to attract more students to learn science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
He said there was a lack of interest among students to take up STEM and hoped that such collaborations would be able to reverse this decline.
“If we are aiming to become a high-income country based on innovation, we must have a huge number of citizens who are highly educated, especially in STEM and technical and vocational education and training (TVET).
“I have recently tasked UPSI with leading a collaboration programme with other universities and district education offices to find ways to make STEM education more attractive,” he said.
It was hoped that the collaboration would produce a teaching and learning process that could instil interest in STEM subjects among students, he added.
