Sabah STPM high achiever not giving up on teaching after offered geography course

 By Olivia Miwil  - September 29, 2023 @ 5:31pm

Sabah STPM achiever Arnie Jaliusnih, who scored a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average for her examinations, will not give up on her dream of becoming a teacher despite not getting the course of her choice. - NSTP/ MOHD ADAM ARININ

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah STPM achiever Arnie Jaliusnih, who scored a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average for her examinations, will not give up on her dream of becoming a teacher despite not getting the course of her choice.

Arnie had expressed her desire to pursue teaching, but she was offered a course in Social Sciences (Geography) at Universiti Malaysia Sabah instead. 

The young woman from Tamparuli, aged 20, gained attention when her father borrowed money from fellow villagers to attend Arnie's STPM Excellence awards ceremony.

"My first choice was to study at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), but I did not get in. 

"Now, I am taking a geography course instead of education. I did not appeal. I plan to continue with a diploma in education programme for degree holders after completing my undergraduate degree. I am hopeful that everything will go well," she said. 

She was among the 10 STPM students who received scholarships from Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor at Menara Kinabalu this morning. 

"I am happy and thankful for the scholarship. The Chief Minister has also expressed his hope that the scholarship recipients will maintain their excellence at the next level." 

Meanwhile, Hajiji stated that the State Government has allocated RM101 million for scholarships for students pursuing further studies in various fields this year. 

He added the amount will benefit 4,638 SPM and STPM graduates as well as those in higher learning institutions from Sabah. 

"Education is one of the key focuses in the Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya development plan, which emphasises human capital development. 

"We need a skilled and knowledgeable human capital pool to develop Sabah," he said. 

Also present were Sabah Public Service Department Director-General Datuk Zainuddin Aman and members of the Scholarship Awards Committee. 

Other scholarship recipients were Julizza Jummain, Kelly Ng, Mahazir Mahmod, Nur Hafizah Mansor, Nur Syafienaz Herman, Nurul Azwa Azura, Dayangku Siti Aisyah Pg Ali Mudin, Legendra Harroy and Shazliana Sahid.