13,000 teachers to the rescue

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Deputy minister says intensive recruitment will solve English teacher shortage nationwide

SADONG JAYA: The Education Ministry will be recruiting 13,000 trained English teachers in a move to solve the shortage faced by the country.

Deputy Education Minister Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi said the problem is especially glaring in some parts of remote Sarawak.

To drive home his point, Puad said several schools and classes in a remote area in Baram have no other option but to share one English teacher.

Even though Puad did not name the schools, it is believed that he was referring to schools near Long Terawan, Baram which he covered in his current visit to the state. These schools are SK Penghulu Baya Malang, SK Long Panai, SK Batu Bungan and SMK Tutoh Apoh.

“The situation is such that several schools have to share one English teacher,” he told a press conference at SK Pendam here yesterday.

SK Pendam is one of those schools which Puad and his entourage, including Batang Sadong MP Nancy Shukri and State Education director Datu Dr Julaihi Bujang, visited yesterday.

Apart from recruiting more than 13,000 English teachers, temporary teachers could also be part of the solution to the shortage, he said.

“We would have to recruit 13,000 trained English teachers to overcome the shortage of these teachers, especially in rural areas. We will intensify efforts to recruit them starting this year,” he said.

“We are committed in our efforts and this will be part of the National Key Result Areas’ (NKRA) target to provide overall quality education,” he said.

THE BEST TO THE YOUNG: Dr Puad and Nancy looking amused watching two pupils of SK Sungai Buluh in Sadong Jaya doing the traditional 'Betanda' dance.

THE BEST TO THE YOUNG: Dr Puad and Nancy looking amused watching two pupils of SK Sungai Buluh in Sadong Jaya doing the traditional 'Betanda' dance.

He also noted that English teachers based in the rural areas have a tendency to ask to be relocated to urban areas and this compounded the shortage.

According to him, the problem of shortage of teachers throughout rural areas in the state is a recognised fact.

For secondary schools alone, there should be more than 1,500 teacher vacancies, he said, adding that only recently, 1,000 new teachers were despatched to various schools.

However, he said, a fair part of the shortage is artificial as vacancies are created by the long transition period related to transfer and relocation of teachers.

“For example, teachers who hold Teaching English as Second Language (TESL) certificates will only start reporting to their

respective schools on Jan 25, 2010. So this is one of the factors that have caused the artificial shortage. Some of them may even be coming in very much later,” he pointed out.

On schools in Sadong Jaya, Puad noted that some schools are struggling with water shortage due to insufficient water storage.

“I am confident that under the NKRA programme, this issue will be given due attention. The government will be committed in overcoming this problem which is to help schools to get enough supply of clean water,” he said.

He also noted that some school buildings were dilapidated because of age and termite attack.

“And what I have observed is that, some school buildings are made of wood and they are in need of further attention. Termites have attacked them. I hope wooden buildings like those in SK Ja’ie here will be maintained and repaired otherwise they will pose a danger to the children,” he said, adding that such schools will be given due attention or priority in the Tenth Malaysian Plan.

Puad yesterday visited a total of eight schools here following his tour of duty in Long Bedian in Ulu Baram.

“Of course we are not looking at problems involving buildings only. “We are also looking into issues relating to teachers and their living quarters,” he said.

One of the solutions to solve shortage of buildings and classrooms is to build more buildings, fast and cost-effectively, he assured.

He said these can be done if authorities build what he termed ‘cabins’ which have been built in SK Tebelu, Sebuyau to good effect.

“I have seen the samples in SMK Rambai in Melaka. The school suffered from a fire but classroom blocks were replaced by ‘cabins’.

Rebuilding using these fiber composite ‘cabins’ was faster. ‘Cabin’ is one alternative to speed up building process,” he said.

He said so far there is no factory in Sarawak that builds these fibre composite cabins although at least 10 companies are dealing in this material. Sabah has one, according to him.

“The cabin is not like the container normally found in housing project sites. They are made of fibre composite, cheaper, of high quality, safe, fire resistant, sound proof, dark in colour and also very easy to install. The first school in Sarawak which uses the material is SK Tebelu Sebuyau,” he said.