KAPIT: Students tend to lose out if teachers in charge of Red Crescent units in schools are frequently changed.
This was observed by Malaysian Red Crescent (MRC) Kapit branch chairman Dr Sia Tik Kong, who also said some of the teachers assigned to lead the units were often not trained in Red Crescent.
“We want the teachers in charge of Red Crescent to know at least what their duties and responsibilities are. From our previous experience, most
of the schools change their teachers in charge of Red Crescent almost every year. Some of the teachers are not trained in Red Crescent but somehow they are being assigned to take care of the Red Crescent units. It is indeed a very sad story as this will be like the ‘blind leading the blind’. The students will not learn anything and it is a waste of time for them to join Red Crescent in the school as their co-curriculum,” he said at the closing of the three-day ‘Mesyuarat Dan Bengkel Guru Penasihat Unit Belia Dan Unit Link Bulan Sabit Merah Malaysia’ for Kapit Division at a hotel here yesterday.
Dr Sia thus urged school principals and headmasters to try to retain the teachers-in-charge for a longer period or at least get someone who knows Red Crescent.
On the workshop, Dr Sia said it was to brief teachers and familiarise them on the Red Crescent movement so that they would be able to impart the same knowledge to their students.
Later, he handed out certificates of attendance to all the participants.
Held from last Friday to yesterday at the MRC Kapit headquarters along Jalan Penghulu Nyanggau here, the workshop attracted about 40 participants.
Earlier, Sarawak Red Crescent technical adviser Ayong Andam explained the MRC structure and its objectives.
He hoped that through the workshop teachers in charge of Red Crescent units in the various schools would get to know each other better and exchange ideas on how to organise Red Crescent activities in their schools.
The three-day workshop included registration, ice-breaking, briefing, formation of committee, foot drill, Red Crescent education and question and answer session among others.