Temporary measure only

Religious teachers from peninsula to fill up present vacancies due to lack of qualified locals

KUCHING: The hiring of religious teachers from the peninsula in Sarawak is only to fill the 401 vacancies for the post at national schools in the state.

Bernama yesterday quoted Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid as saying that as there were no teachers from Sarawak to fill the vacancies, the Sarawak Education Department decided to advertise the need for candidates from Sabah or Peninsular Malaysia as interim religious teachers.

Hitting out at Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen who disputed the recruitment of religious teachers from the peninsula to Sarawak, he said measures had been implemented since 1963 and no problem had ever arisen from this.

“This is not something extraordinary as each year if there are not enough religious teachers (in Sarawak), we send (from the peninsula) and in fact, we discuss this with the state government.”

Mahdzir said this at a press conference after the explanation session on the ‘English Language Education Implementation Strategy Towards Students’ Proficiency’ in Putrajaya.

Chong, who is also Bandar Kuching MP, had reportedly said during the Dewan Rakyat sitting on March 15 that Islamic education teachers from the peninsula polluted the minds of Sarawak’s young generation and brought narrow philosophy and thinking to the state.

As an educated parliamentarian, Mahdzir said Chong should not have made such remarks, considering that Malaysia is a multiracial and multi-religious society, with Muslims forming the majority.

“Although in the opposition, ( he) should not have made such a statement. It was unprofessional

This is not something extraordinary as each year if there are not enough religious teachers (in Sarawak), we send (from the peninsula) and in fact, we discuss this with the state government. Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid, Education Minister

of him, “he added.

Meanwhi le when asked to comment on Mahdzir’s statement, Welfare, Women and Community Wellbeing Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdul lah stressed that the recruitment of Islamic Education teachers f rom Peninsular Malaysia was only a temporary measure.

Fatimah said with local teachers now constituting 88 per cent of teachers at government schools in Sarawak, the recruitment of Islamic Education teachers from other states would not af fect the state government’s ‘ 90: 10 Initiative’.

“The recruitment of Islamic Education teachers from Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia would not affect our target of 90:10 by 2018. We are at 88 per cent at the moment,” Fatimah told The Borneo Post yesterday.

She said the 90: 10 Initiative included teachers of Islamic Education. The 90:10 Initiative is the state government’s policy of having locals constitute 90 per cent of teachers at government secondary and primary schools in Sarawak by 2018, while the 10 per cent would be made up of teachers from other states.

Fat imah s a id present ly, Sarawak did have its own local Islamic Education teachers but the number of graduates was not enough to meet the demand.

“The state government will take two approaches in overcoming the shortage of teachers in this particular subject.”

As a short-term approach, the state will be giving training through ‘ Holiday Training Classes’ and post- graduation training course to train more Islamic Education teachers.

For the long-term, the state government will provide more opportunities for Sarawakian Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia ( STPM) and Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia (STAM) graduates to take up Bachelor degrees in Education, majoring in Islamic Education.

“The two approaches are to make sure that by 2022, 90 per cent of religious teachers or Islamic Education teachers are from Sarawak,” said Fatimah.