| Azlan Othman & Rokiah Mahmud |

GOVERNMENT scholarship students who are bonded are not allowed to work outside the country. They are only allowed to work either with the government or private sector in the country.

However, the matter will be further reviewed for reducing the unemployment rate among Brunei graduates, Minister of Education Yang Berhormat Awang Haji Hamzah bin Haji Sulaiman said at the Legislative Council (LegCo) meeting yesterday.

He was responding to a question by Legislative Council (LegCo) member Yang Berhormat Khairunnisa binti Haji Ash’ari on reviewing bonds for overseas graduates so that they could work abroad if not offered employment in the country.

She added that the chances of these graduates getting job offers overseas were high.

Yang Berhormat Khairunnisa said it brings benefits to the government if the bonded students are able to work overseas and a loss to the nation if they are unemployed for a longer period.

On a similar issue echoed by LegCo Yang Berhormat Siti Rozaimeriyanty binti Dato Seri Laila Jasa Haji Abdul Rahman, the Minister of Education said to break the bond, there must be a win-win solution benefitting the nation and the student.

The government invests a lot of money in awarding the student with an overseas scholarship. The nation is also encouraging the students to venture into entrepreneurship to assist the economy using facilities available in the country.