TAR UC takes root in Kuantan

RM45mil campus among projects to spearhead development in Pahang

KUANTAN:

Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC) has hit another milestone with the launch of its Pahang branch campus here.

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the RM45mil campus was an addition to a slew of projects that would help to spur development in the state.

The Prime Minister said the campus would provide quality higher education at affordable cost to more people in the region.

“This is important for us. I believe TAR UC will focus not only on current fields but future skill sets required for this nation to move forward such as robotics, nanotechnology, automation and others,” he said in his speech during the launch yesterday.

The campus was launched by Pahang Regent Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah.

Najib also outlined four principles of human capital development to sustain the country’s economic growth.

“For a country’s economy to grow at a sustainable rate, it must have as many people as possible with a high level of education and skills to meet the needs of industries.

“The Government also wants to see the income of the people growing by upgrading the existing skills, as those highly skilled would surely have a higher income,” he said.

Najib added that the third principle was social mobility, which did not discriminate between urban and rural communities, rich and poor or ethnicities.

“We must create more opportunities to raise the socio-economic status so that the only thing that holds individuals back is whether they have the ambition or drive to succeed in life.

“Lastly, we must be prepared for the future. Up to 60% of jobs have yet to be created but we have to

Educational opportunities: Tengku Abdullah and Najib, accompanied by Liow, browsing through the books available at the campus library. — Bernama

ensure the current generation of pupils and students are ready with the skills to fill these positions in the years to come,” he said.

Najib said drastic changes would take place in the world and Malaysia should be prepared to meet future challenges by focusing on quality education and access to it.

Also present at the launch were Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong and Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Dr Mary Yap.

Liow, who is TAR UC’s board of governors’ chairman, said the cam- pus would offer courses that complemented the human capital needs of the industries in Pahang.

“With all the high impact developments, this will certainly provide a much-needed impetus to spur growth in the state.

“It also calls for a sustainable human capital pipeline to transform the potential into tangible result,” he said.

For a start, the Pahang campus will be offering the Diploma in Business Studies (Accountancy and Business Administration) as well as Diploma in Science (Information System Engineering).

Over the next five years, it will also roll out a number of specialised high-tech programmes in railway technology, engineering, business, logistics and ICT at diploma and bachelor’s degree levels.

The 6ha campus could accommodate 3,000 students. It is equipped with modern facilities such as an Olympic-sized swimming pool and a sports dome housing a futsal-cum-volleyball court, gymnasium, two basketball courts and six badminton courts.