“THE number of private educational institutions in the country continues to increase from time to time. These private educational institutions offer various courses from kindergarten to higher learning, including vocational and technical education.”

Deputy Minister of Education Pg Dato Seri Setia Dr Hj Mohammad Pg Hj Abd Rahman said this at the graduation ceremony of Laksamana College of Business Session 20082009 yesterday, which he attended as the guest of honour.

He urged the private educational institutions to compete and collaborate with each other in a healthy way to produce quality graduates to support the nation’s needs for capacity building.

“Perhaps private colleges like Laksamana College could explore the posibility link-ups with local providers of tertiary or further education such as our local universities UBD, UNISSA, ITB and the college university KUPUSB,” he said, adding that this could help reduce costs for students and parents while at the same time increase the human capital exponentially.

His Majesty the Sultan and Yang DiPertuan of Negara Brunei Darussalam has often stressed the importance of students as valuable assets and the leaders of tomorrow.

“In His Majesty’s Titah during an audience with Bruneian students in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland on January, 2004, His Majesty expressed hope that students would become a dynamic generation capable of bringing greatness and glory to the nation.”

The deputy minister urged students to be inspired by His Majesty’s Titah and the nation’s aspiration towards 2035 and to be focussed on their studies whether locally or abroad for the sake of developing this country to become at par with other developed nations.

Touching on the achievement of LCB, the deputy minister is pleased to note that a number of graduates from the previous intakes have gone to acquire degrees from various universities in the UK. He is happy to know that some students who have graduated from LCB were also awarded scholarships by the government, showing the government’s recognition of the contribution of the college as one of the successful private educational institutions in the country.

“From a modest enrolment of 25 students when the college started operating in 2003, the number of students has now increased to 200. This is a remarkable increase within six years. Not only has the number of students increased, but the college has also explored various courses from certificate to diploma and first year degree. In the process, the college has also Collaborated with well-known educational institutions in the United Kingdom.”

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