Unitar puzzled by recent interim teachers’ retrenchment

KUCHING: Out of the 209 local temporary teachers whose services were terminated but later reinstated following public outrage, more than 90 percent are graduates from University Tun Abdul Razak ( Unitar).

Questions have arisen whether programmes of fered by the institution including Bachelor of Education in general ; in Early Childhood Education; in Educational Leadership and Management as well as in Teaching English as Second Language are accredited.

Dr Mornie Kambrie, chairman of Sidma College, which houses the Sarawak regional centre for Unitar, when contacted said he was as puzzled as the rest of the world because he could not fathom the reason for refusing to engage Unitar graduates as permanent staff to fulfil the 2018 90: 10 initiative.

“We don’t know why our graduates have been turned down. We have good graduates. I have feedback from school principals that our graduates are effective teachers who are ready for the industry and willing to fit into the system.”

“Furthermore, our Bachelor of Education programme is designed by Prof Dato Dr Ibrahim Bajunib who is one of the three founding members of Institut Aminuddin Baki, a premier training centre for government teachers. All the educational programme are also accredited and recognised by Malayan Qualification Agency ( MQA),” Mornie told The Borneo Post yesterday.

Mornie argued that if the institution had been faulty in its programme design, then all their graduates should not be taken in by the government.

The fact remains that many of its graduates have already been absorbed into the government education system.

“The reason given for the recent retrenchment of our graduates was that they failed the psychometric test. Yes, we don’t give them psychometric test. Instead, we give them psychometric training such as critical thinking and lessons which instil life values.”

On the psychometric test which the Education Ministry requires a compulsory pass for all applicants interested to teach in government schools, Mornie said it was a questionnaire asking for either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers.

He highlighted one question or situation in the test - if you go to your school on Sunday and there are many empty parking spaces, including the one allocated to the principal. Is it right or wrong to park at the principal’s parking space?

“The answer to the question is either ‘yes’ or ‘no’. So you tell me, what is the answer? In this psychometric test, there are some questions that involved some grey areas and yet you can only answer with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’,” said Mornie.

He questioned the real reason behind the recent retrenchment of Unitar graduates and hoped that there had been no discriminatory factors.

While the State Education Department is turning away 209 locally trained temporary teachers, it is officially requesting for the posting of 207 teachers from other states.

In a letter dated Feb 3 this year written by state Education director Rakayah Madon entitled “Requesting Teachers for Islamic Teaching for Primary and Secondary schools as well as other Critical Subjects”, the state department has asked the Education Ministry to send a total of 640 teachers of various subjects.

The largest number of teachers requested are Islamic Teaching teachers, amounting to 433 of which 401 are needed in primary schools and 32 in secondary schools.

The remaining 207 requested comprised 36 for Bahasa Malaysia Language, 107 for History and Geography and 64 for Mathematics.

The letter pointed out that Sarawak is experiencing a shortage in teachers of Islamic Teaching and a few other critical subjects for both primary and secondary schools.

“As such, State Education Department agreed to accept teachers from other states to serve in Sarawak,” the letter stated.