MARA to introduce flexible studies programme beginning 2018

Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the programme would be implemented via collaboration between MARA and other higher learning institutions in Malaysia and overseas.

"With the concept of 3Cs 2Us, the students will undergo the first three years of their studies in college and (the subsequent) two years at university...This means they will spend a year of foundation studies at MARA college and the first two years of degree programme at MARA Higher Skills College or MARA Professional College.

"The remaining two years of studies will be carried out either at Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL), Universiti MARA, Poly-Tech MARA University College, local or international universities," he said at the 2017 MARA Educational Institution Perdana Convocation ceremony here today.

Ismail Sabri also announced that a total of 220 top students would be offered by MARA to further their bachelor''s degrees via twinning, mobility or internship programmes in Australia, the United Kingdom and United States.

"I hope this announcement will motivate other students to excel and pave the way to further studies at 20 top universities in the world," he said.

The minister also said MARA had been sponsoring about 1,000 students to continue their studies abroad every year as part of the over RM2 billion allocated by the government to the agency, on education.

"This has refuted the claims that MARA does not have money and has reduced the allocation for education," said Ismail Sabri.

Meanwhile, he said MARA had also agreed to give out special entrepreneurship grants, worth RM20,000 each, to 10 companies owned by graduates of MARA educational institutions which had shown positive growth in their businesses.

"These companies will also be given priority access to MARA''s entrepreneurial facilities such as business loans, rental of premises and advisory services," said Ismail Sabri, adding that over 1,300 such companies were registered under the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) last year with profits of RM5 million.