PKR veep taken aback by KGBS chief’s statement
KUCHING: PKR Women national vice-president Voon Shiak Ni is shocked to read Sarawak Bumiputera Teachers Union ( KGBS) president Ahmad Malie’s statement calling on Sarawakians to remain calm over the decision by the state Education Department to bring in teachers from Peninsular Malaysia to fill the vacancies in primary and secondary schools in the state.
In the statement, Ahmad also said the move was actually for the best interest of Sarawak.
He was quoted as saying: “Everyone should realise that reaching the 90:10 ratio of local teachers versus Peninsular teachers cannot be achieved overnight. It will take some time.”
“I wish to remind Ahmad to note the statement from the Education Department in year 2015 that the department, in proceeding with the plan for the transition towards realising the 90:10 ratio of local to Peninsula teachers in Sarawak by 2018, has actually projected that 15 per cent of teachers from Peninsula would be transferred out of Sarawak in 2016, 20 per cent in 2017 and 25 per cent in 2018 as a step forward to materialise the same.
“How can we increase the employment of more local teachers if we are still importing teachers from Peninsular Malaysia this year? And why are we having authorities speaking contradictory statements here,” she told The Borneo Post yesterday.
Voon, who is also PKR Stampin branch vice- chairperson, noted that the state Education Department, in a letter dated Feb 3, had requested for 401 and 32 Islamic Studies teachers for primary schools and secondary schools respectively.
In the letter, the state Education Department also requested for 36 Bahasa Melayu teachers, 107 History and Geography teachers and 64 Mathematics teachers for secondary schools.
She reminded the state Education Department that it was the late Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem’s vision for the 90:10 ratio to be fulfilled by 2018.
Voon recalled that in one of the few last speeches Adenan made in Nov last year, he had made it loud and clear that he would not allow the two teachers education institutes in Sarawak, namely Miri Teachers Education Institute and Rajang Teachers Education Institute, to be turned in technical colleges as it would affect the intake of local teachers and the target to achieve the 90:10 ratio.
“The late Adenan had urged the federal government to consider using other facilities as technical colleges.”
Therefore, Voon would like Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg to clear the air on the request by the state Education Department for teachers from Peninsular Malaysia and the fact that the teachers are imported for subjects like Geography, History and Maths, not only for Islamic Studies as the people were given to understand.