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By: Aida Aziz
Ipoh: Ungku Omar Polytechnic (PUO) welcomes the Higher Education Ministry’s plan to elevate PUO to the APEX Polytechnic under the Accelerated Programme for Excellence (APEX).
This announcement was made by the Minister of Higher Education, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, during the launch of the Polytechnic Transformation 2023-2033 at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre.
Dr. Shamsuri Abdullah, the director of PUO, expressed enthusiasm, stating that the announcement signifies PUO’s future status as an APEX Vocational and Technical Education (TVET) institution in Malaysia. It will also become a prestigious and competitive technological institute.
“The APEX Polytechnic is a strategic initiative to elevate PUO as a national institution of higher education that provides advanced TVET programs. It is based on practical elements and the latest technology to ensure that PUO remains excellent and relevant in the national and global higher education landscape.
“We are optimistic about this plan, which will position PUO as a leading centre for advanced TVET excellence and innovation that is relevant to industries. It will also have dynamic and sustainable governance,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.
On Monday, it was reported in the media that PUO in Ipoh, Perak, has now been upgraded to an APEX Polytechnic.
Mohamed Khaled mentioned that this is the fifth focus area in the Polytechnic Transformation 2023-2030, aiming to develop an APEX Polytechnic.
He emphasized that all these efforts are directed towards evolving the APEX Polytechnic into a technological institute.