IPG Rajang Campus to close after all — MP
SARIKEI: It is confirmed that Teachers’ Training Institute (IPG) Rajang Campus will close after all its last intakes have graduated by June 2020.
Sarikei MP Andrew Wong Ling Biu said the closure of the college was confirmed by Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh when replying to a question posed during the last parliamentary sitting.
Idris said that IPG Rajang Campus was among nine IPGs the federal cabinet had decided to convert into polytechnics under the Ministry of Higher Education, Wong told a press conference at DAP office here yesterday.
Apart from IPG Rajang Campus, Wong said he was made to understand that IPG Miri Campus was also in the list, thus leaving only IPG Batu Lintang Campus the only one left in the state.
“It is sad news for the people of Sarikei Division in particular and Sarawakians in general,” he added.
For the record, IPG Rajang Campus has significant historical values as its establishment in 1966 symbolises close co- operation between the governments of Malaysia and New Zealand.
The two governments undertook the projects under the Colombo Plan which focused on economic and social development of Southeast Asian countries.
The state government provided 32ha of land for the project while New Zealand allocated RM1.5 million to realise it. It was declared open by the then Governor Tun Abang Openg Abang Sapi’ee on Oct 31, 1967.
It was then known as Rajang
To me, the closure of IPG Rajang Campus is certainly not a prize from the federal government, but a form of punishment imposed by the authority on the state government for playing up with the autonomy issues.
Teachers College and started operation with nine lecturers and 89 trainees for the first intake.
Its first principal from 1966 to 1967 was KJ Hayr of New Zealand, who was succeeded by an another New Zealander with surname Radford (1967 to 1968) and was replaced by a local, Lau Kuok Ding (1968 to 1969). before another New Zealander, Mathew Warrier, took over from 1969 to 1971.
The closure of IPG Rajang Campus would be very much felt by the people of Sarikei as it is the only institution of higher learning in the division. Sarawakians in general will remember IPG Rajang Campus for its contribution in producing thousands of teachers not only from Sarawak but also other states.
The MP also wondered whether the federal government had ever consulted the state government before deciding to close IPG campuses in the state. If there were any consultation, I wonder whether the federal government had considered the views of the state government which is demanding for the devolution of powers taken away by the federal government over the years.
“To me, the closure of IPG Rajang Campus is certainly not a prize from the federal government, but a form of punishment imposed on the state government for playing up the autonomy issues,” Wong claimed.
He also said the closure of IPG Rajang was a blow to the demand for 90 per cent local teachers in the state as stated by former chief minister the late Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem.
Wong Ling Biu, Sarikei MP Andrew