State Education Dept aims for zero disciplinary cases
KOTA KINABALU: The State Education Department (JPN) Sabah aims to achieve zero disciplinary cases in the education sector this year.
Its director, Datuk Raisin Saidin, explained that this is in order to raise their dignity and to uphold the Public Officers Regulations Act (Conduct and Discipline) 1993.
“JPN Sabah intends to zero out disciplinary cases sentenced at the Disciplinary Board level as we do not want those in the education sector to become a thorn in the flesh to the public service as a whole as it will affect our service, especially to students,” he said in his JPN Sabah 2024 New Year message at Menara Kinabalu here on Thursday.
In addition, Raisin said the department will implement the “1 Warga, 1 Kaunseling” programme to ensure everyone in JPN, District Education Offices (PPD) and schools have the opportunity to seek counselling services, guidance, consultation, or advocacy.
He said DASS 21 tests will also be implemented to detect high stress levels, depression and anxiety, which are barriers to quality services among those in the education sector.
“These are to ensure that they are physically and mentally healthy to carry out the tasks entrusted to them,” he said.
Raisin also said the department will carry out an impact study to assess the implications of the placements and exchanges of school leaders and teachers for the purpose of continuous improvement.
He said this is due to school leaders, especially the principals and headmasters, being the most important figures in a school, and a quality school results from their great leadership.
“Thus, their placement and exchange can really have a positive impact on quality schools and students’ success.
“JPN Sabah and PPDs need to study the impact of the placement and exchange of principals, headmasters, and teachers to deal with the issues of dropouts and literacy problems in order to bridge the educational gap in the state of Sabah in particular,” he said.
Raisin also said the implementation of various actions to eradicate the issue of dilapidated schools in Sabah categorised as “level seven” is an important direction taken by the JPN this year to provide comfort and a more conducive environment for students to gain knowledge.
To achieve this, he said there needs to be a caring mentality as well as a shift towards paying attention to schools which are in categories one to five.
“We have many dilapidated schools. The challenge (in this direction) is how can we maintain schools in the state within levels one to five so that they do not fall into levels six and seven.
“Do not be satisfied if your district has no school in level seven, that’s good.
“But don’t forget that in time even schools in level six can drop to level seven if not maintained and those in level one can also drop to level two for the same reason,” he said.
Schools are rated on a scale of one to seven, with level six referring to buildings that are not safe as justified by the technical department of the District Education Office (PPD) or JPN.
Meanwhile, buildings rated 7 refer to those that are unsafe and are recommended to be demolished by the Public Works Department (JKR).
Raisin said that in 2020, a total of 39 dilapidated schools in Sabah were repaired and 12 more are undergoing repairs, while in 2021 only two schools were repaired and 25 still being repaired after work slowed down due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
He added that school administration and all parties involved must update the Education Management Information System (EMIS) to ensure the Ministry of Education is always aware of the schools’ building status so that it can take the necessary action.
In addition to dilapidated schools, Raisin said another crucial direction for Sabah JPN this year is to raise the state average grade (GPN) in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination from 5 to 4.
“Sabah’s SPM average grade has, for a long time, stood at 5, with the latest being 5.22 in 2022 but it is also the best so far, which reflects the (rising GPN) momentum but we cannot be satisfied with a GPN score of 5. The time has come to raise it… it would be good to reach 4.9,” he said.
Also present was PPD Planning and Management Sector (SPPD) deputy director Mohd Zaini Yanin.