Jisin Nyud
SIBU: The Sarawak Teachers Union (STU) has suggested that the Rajang and Miri Teacher Education Institutes (IPG) be fully utilised for the upskilling and upgrading of teachers.
STU president Jisin Nyud said this will be useful and beneficial to the state rather than just waiting for both institutes to close in a few years’ time.
“As it was the (federal) cabinet’s decision to turn these IPGs into TVet (technical and vocational education and training) centres, definitely we can foresee that there will be no more intakes of trainee teachers in a few years’ time for these two teaching institutes,” he told The Borneo Post yesterday.
“Considering the feasibility of these two teaching institutes to be used as TVet centres would be costly and it is still a far way to go, STU would like to suggest to have them fully utilised at this moment especially for the upskilling and upgrading of teachers not only for the primary but the secondary school teachers.”
He said this could involve short courses, including for new teachers who may need more exposure on certain subjects.
“With the closure of Miri and Rajang teaching institutes, we are worried that our dream of achieving 90 per cent local teachers cannot be achieved.”
The state government recently said it would formulate its own training programmes for IPG Rajang and IPG Miri, which would close down after the present batch of trainees graduate in June 2020.
Minister of Education, Science and Technological Research Dato Sri Michael Manyin Jawong said IPG Rajang and Miri were among nine of 27 IPGs nationwide to be closed by the federal government.