Seated fourth from right: Dr Ting, Ling, Teo and Haw with some of the federation members.
MIRI: The federal Education Ministry still needs to work closely with its Sarawak counterpart although education is a subject under the federal government.
Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching in principle agreed that education is a federal matter but there is a need for her ministry to work closely with the state governments of Sabah and Sarawak on education matters.
“My ministry will work closely with the state governments of Sabah and Sarawak by doing some planning works for dilapidated schools, schools with few pupils and many others.
“We need to have close discussion on these matters with the state governments because the state governments understand better the local issues,” she told the media after chairing a dialogue with Federation of Chinese Primary Schools Boards of Miri and Limbang Divisions at Imperial Hotel here yesterday.
Teo disclosed that there was a proposal to combine schools with few pupils.
On this, she said the federal Education Ministry has to work hand in hand with the state governments because they know schools with few pupils suitable to be combined.
“Education matters such as text books, syllabus, teacher’s allocation, training and many others are much under federal.
“But in the aspect of other developments such as building, we still need to work
closely with the state governments.”
On the dialogue, she said several issues were brought up by the school boards such as allocation, stateless students, students’ discipline, schools with few pupils and many others.
She added her ministry would go through the issues one by one before forwarding them either to the district education office, state or federal governments for immediate attention.
Some 50 representatives from various school boards in Miri and Limbang attended the dialogue.
Also present were senator Alan Ling, Pujut assemblyman Dr Ting Tiong Choon and Federation of Chinese Primary Schools Boards of Miri and Limbang Divisions chairman Penghulu Haw Min Wai.