OUTSTANDING students from the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) will now be given more recognition, with the creation of a new book prize to reward their achievements.

The Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien Book Prize will be presented yearly to a maximum of six such individuals who have excelled in their courses, to encourage them to work hard at pursuing further studies.

Students will be eligible for the $500 award if they are also recipients of the Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship to Encourage Upgrading (LKY-STEP).

This scholarship is given to outstanding ITE and polytechnic graduates who have gone on to study full-time at local polytechnics or universities. Last year, 10 such awards were given out to ITE students, each worth $3,500.

The launch of the new award was made possible by a $30,000 donation from Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, who received the sum for delivering the inaugural Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien Memorial Lecture in February this year in Brunei.

ITE director and chief executive officer Bruce Poh expressed gratitude towards MM Lee for his generosity.

'The... book prize will provide further recognition to outstanding ITE students, and encourage them to work hard and excel in their studies at the polytechnics,' he said.