STU pledges support to government of the day

KUCHING: Sarawak Teachers Union (STU) will always support the government in power as it is the choice of the people.

STU president Jisin Nyud pointed out that for a country which practises democracy, the people must respect and abide with the political party in power.

“As such, STU as an nongovernmental organisation ( NGO), will give our support to the government both at the state level and the federal level,” he said in a phone message yesterday.

“At the moment, STU has a good relationship with the state as well as the federal government especially on education aspects,” he added.

Moreover, Jisin said that every STU division from Kuching to Limbang have collaborated well with the line-up of ministers including elected representatives in the State Legislative Assembly ( DUN) as well as Parliament.

On the change of power following the appointment of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the new Prime Minister of Malaysia, STU has no problem with whoever leads the country.

“The most important thing is a government that cares and is fair to teachers and students. Looking at what is happening now, it is clear that teachers cannot fully focus on teaching and learning ( PdP) in the classroom,” he said.

“We hope that a lot of other works that have taken up a lot of the teachers’ time from the classroom can be sorted out,” he suggested.

Other than teaching, he explained that online works which were ‘ unnecessary yet compulsory’ to be fulfilled such as survey and data that could be obtained from school data but still the department had requested that they be sent by teachers.

“Teachers are supposed to focus on teaching so in this way teachers can do learning planning to ensure PdP process is effectively carried out without disturbances,” he emphasised.

“Other than works on the side which have taken a lot of teachers’ time, the PdP also requires advanced IT infrastructure and facilities for 21st century learning,” he added.

Jisin stressed that the lack of infrastructure, internet and gadgets were issues that needed to be addressed in Sarawak.

Being a veteran in politics and education, STU trusts that Dr Mahathir can shape and return the glory of education and teaching sector in Malaysia.

Hence, he hoped that the federal government would fulfil the promises related to education which have been pledged in the Pakatan Harapan manifesto.