SIBU: Sarawak Teachers’ Union (STU) wants more Sarawakians to serve in the state.
This is because local teachers will stay put until retirement, said STU president Jisin Nyud, adding that most teachers from other states would not serve very long in Sarawak, especially those who were engaged and married.
“In fact, some undergraduates also have that easy feeling about Sarawak. Just like most Sarawakians, they prefer to be posted or transferred to their own hometown,” Jisin told The Borneo Post yesterday.
Recently, Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) questioned why only 10 per cent of the more than 500 teachers posted to Sarawak this year were from the state, with the rest from the Peninsula.
PRS Youth chief Liwan Lagang urged the Ministry of Education to look into the matter seriously, saying locals should be given priority to be trained as teachers and posted to the state.
According to Liwan, out of more than 500 teachers posted to Sarawak this year, only about 50 were from Sarawak.
He stressed that more local teachers ought to be posted to the rural areas as this would solve the problem of people from outside the state suffering from culture shock.
Jisin observed that teachers from Peninsula teaching in Sarawak had always been the most talked about issue every year. He, however, said facts and figures were needed, which could only be obtained from the state Education Department and the ministry.
“As mentioned during our meeting with the ministry there are other factors that they need to look into such as the number of vacancies and options.
“For example, if the vacancy is for physics, is it wise to ask another teacher who majored in other subjects to teach this subject?
“The supply of teachers is based on the vacancies in the state and the Ministry of Education is trying its best to post teachers from Sarawak back to the state.
“However, we have to be rational if schools do not get local teachers. It could be due to the vacancies and their options,” he reasoned.
He further reckoned many people would argue why only a few teachers were from Sarawak.
“We urge the government to take more Sarawakians into teaching institutes and universities but do our kids meet the requirements?”
The ministry was also informed of the intake of Sarawakians into teaching institutes or universities but at the end of it all it was the results that mattered, he opined.
“Even parents, many of them put teaching as second choice for their children. If we want more Sarawakians to become teachers put teaching as the top priority and make sure that these applicants score good results so that they can compete with other applicants nationwide,” Jisin summed up.