BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

LOCAL students still prefer to study at universities in Brunei because they continue to offer quality education.

Muhd Amirul Yaiisuddin Hj Roslan told _The Brunei Times _during the “Studyrama: Higher Education and Career Fair” yesterday at Duli Pengiran Muda Al-Muhtadee Billah College (Maktab Duli) that he plans to further his studies in Brunei.

The Studyrama is an annual event for the Maktab Duli students to be exposed to opportunities in the higher education. It also aims to ensure that students are aware of their career paths in relation to their interests.

“I believe that local universities are good choices because as a local, you would have more benefits in studying in your home country,” Amirul said.

The benefits of studying in the Sultanate include availing of government assistance and knowing local places, among others, he said.

He noted that he plans to study at the Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) as a support to the local institution.

“UBD is good, too, because they do have great experts who were employed by the government. They do offer high level educations just like universities abroad,” he said.

Dk Amal Hidayatul Najilbah Pg Dahari, another Maktab Duli student, said that she wants to study locally. However, since her undergraduate degree course is not offered in the Sultanate, she hopes to take it at a university in the United Kingdom.

“My dream is to become a government officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) because I was inspired by my family members (who are MOFAT officers),” she said.

Dk Amal explained that if the course was offered in Brunei, she would rather pursue it here as it would be easier for her to stay in her home country.

“People should not go to the United Kingdom just for the name, because Brunei has great universities too, which are developing more and more,” she said.

Muhd Khairul Ikhwan Hasnan echoed the sentiments of the two students, noting that Brunei has a great education system at par with those abroad.

“Brunei’s Ministry of Education is really good. They help us succeed and have offered us opportunities. I would be proud and happy to study in our local universities,” he said.

UBD representatives at the career fair expressed their joy over the students’ change of mindset, because it is a positive step for Brunei to promote its universities.

“It is very good that students are now looking forward to studying in Brunei. They can be educated by high quality experts in our universities, and above all, they are at their home country,” said the UBD representative, who requested anonymity.

The representative stressed that students will still be able to experience studying abroad because of UBD’s Discovery Year, offered on the third year of their undergraduate course.

“Just because they are studying in Brunei, it doesn’t mean they wouldn’t be able to study abroad, the Discovery Year will allow them to study abroad for the whole year,” she said.

The Brunei Times