KUCHING: Sarawak Teachers Union (STU) has no objection to Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid’s announcement of taking non-Sarawakian religious teachers to Sarawak schools to fill the vacancies for teachers of Islamic Studies.
However, STU president Jisin Nyud said priority should be given to the local religious teachers as they understood the local culture.
“We know that we don’t have enough local religious teachers in Sarawak at the moment, we have to take them. However, priority should be given to local religious teachers as they understand our local culture more. Who can teach religious subjects? Only qualified religious teachers can. If we want better result we need qualified religious teachers.
“Taking account Sarawak’s multi-racial composition STU hopes that these (non-Sarawakian) religious teachers would be able to adapt themselves to the situation and culture here, especially when they go to the rural parts of Sarawak,” he said when contacted yesterday.
He was asked to comment on concern that the posting of non-Sarawakian religious teachers to schools in Sarawak, especially those in rural areas, because of past isolated cases, where religious teachers were found to either trying to convert or have converted their students.
Jisin said there should be no problem if the religious teachers were well briefed by the state Education Department or the Education Ministry.
It is understood that non-Sarawakians posted to the state will need to undergo an orientation programme organised by the state Education Department, where they will be briefed on the culture and sensitivities of the people in the state.
“They are coming to Sarawak to teach, not to convert the students. Understanding and respecting one another is important especially in Sarawak where the people come from difference races, ethnic groups and religious background. This makes our state well-blended in terms of culture.”
According to Mahdzir, the lack of teachers teaching Islamic Studies in Sarawak was very critical at the moment and as such, his ministry would bring in teachers from Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah to teach the subject in Sarawak.
He said arrangement had already been agreed by Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg.
Acknowledging that Sarawak wanted to implement the 90:10 ratio of local to non-local teachers, he said this decision was a special arrangement to address the shortage of such teachers.