Ahmad Malie
KUCHING: Sarawakians are advised to remain calm over the decision by the Sarawak Education Department to bring in teachers from Peninsular Malaysia to fill the vacancies in primary and secondary schools in the state.
In giving this advice, Kesatuan Guru Bumiputera Sarawak (KGBS) president Ahmad Malie said the request was actually for the best interests of Sarawak.
He was reacting to social media postings over the issue, which he said had caused much uneasiness among the teaching fraternity and KGBS members.
“Everyone should realise that reaching the 90:10 ratio of local teachers versus Semenanjung teachers cannot be achieved overnight. It will take some time,” pointed out Ahmad.
“When the issue of teacher’s placement is politicised, it will be harder for the ministry to make a decision as it has become complicated due to outside interference. At the end of the day, it will affect the future of our own Sarawakian students,” he added.
He believes that the State Education Department has formulated a strategy to achieve the 90:10 ratio and the request for more teachers from the Peninsula was a sound decision.
Thus, he hoped that everyone will put their trust in the State Education Department to make its decisions without outside interference and pressure.
In a letter dated Feb 3, the State Education Department requested for 401 and 32 Islamic Studies teachers for primary schools and secondary schools respectively.
Also in the letter was a request for 36 Bahasa Melayu teachers, 107 History and Geography teachers and 64 Mathematics teachers for secondary schools.
However, Welfare, Women and Community Wellbeing Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah clarified that the request was only made for Pendidikan Islam (Islamic studies) teachers.
“It is only for Pendidikan Islam,” assured Fatimah when contacted by the Borneo Post yesterday.