Cuepacs to meet PM on closure of IPGs

MIRI: The Congress of Union of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) is expected to meet Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad or other top leaders in the Pakatan Harapan ( PH) government to discuss the closure of nine Teacher Training Institutes (IPG) in the country.

President Datuk Azih Muda told this to reporters at a press conference here yesterday.

He said the previous government had proposed to close the nine institutes on the ground that there was over-supply of graduates, which he regarded as an improper step to take. He pointed to several countries such as Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand which do not close learning or training institutions even though there is over-supply of graduates.

“They are considered as teaching universities because they produce graduates and the closure is something that should not happen,” he said.

He also suggested that there should not be any isolation as they produce teachers for both primary and secondary schools.

“I think changes need to be made, not necessarily for primary or secondary schools. On the other hand, the government should provide wider space for people to engage in education and learning institutions. Therefore, we will discuss and study this matter again before meeting the government on the issue of closing these nine IPGs,” he said.

Although Cuepacs considers TVET as the best system to produce highly competitive and skilled manpower to meet the needs and demands of both the state and country, it said it should not mean closing the IPGs.

In 2016, the previous government announced in Parliament that nine IPGs in the country, including IPG Rajang in Bintangor and IPG Sarawak in Miri, would be closed.