Jame (right) presenting a memento to Idris.
KOTA KINABALU: The Education Ministry has now realised that Education Department directors in Sabah and Sarawak need to be empowered to ensure that implementation of much needed infrastructure would be expedited, Second Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said.
Speaking to reporters after the briefing on the Malaysia Education Development Blueprint for 2013 to 2025 here yesterday, Idris said that during his visit to Sabah, he took note of the pressing need for educational infrastructure projects to be expedited.
“I have discussed the matter with state education director Jame Alip to find out how we can ensure greater empowerment so he can expedite the implementation of the projects. I will discuss the matter further with the ministry’s chief secretary, Datuk Dr Madinah Mohamad, to determine the mechanism and procedures, but in principle, the Sabah and Sarawak education directors have to be given more authority,” he said.
He pointed out that the distance between the two states and Peninsular Malaysia is far and therefore the need to ensure the state directors closely monitor the projects.
In his speech earlier, Idris also spoke on the need to increase the intake of Sabahans to be trained as teachers.
When asked by reporters to elaborate on this, Idris said: “Among the issues in Sabah are that there are many teachers from Peninsular posted to the state. The problem arises when they are transferred back to their hometowns.
“So to overcome this issue we will take more teachers from Sabah so that they can fill in the needs of the state. This, however, is not a guarantee that they will be posted in the state but this will reduce the number of teachers from Peninsular Malaysia and at the same time reduce the cases involving transfers of teachers,” he said.
During the briefing earlier, Idris also spoke about the aspirations of the government as listed in the Education Masterplan. He pointed out that there has been criticism from various quarters, including the opposition, about the Education Blueprint.
“The government is open and transparent and willing to discuss issues or shortcomings but for now, allow us to implement this comprehensive plan so that our children will have world class education. There will be reviews of the blueprint in 2015, 2020 and 2025, so rest assured that issues would be looked into and resolved,” he said.