Alan: PH Sarawak disagrees with closing of IPG campuses

MIRI: Pakatan Harapan ( PH) Sarawak supports the protest by NGOs and Sarawakians to scrap the proposal to close teacher education institutes ( IPG) in Sarawak.

PH Sarawak secretary Alan Ling Sie Kiong assured that he would bring up the matter to the attention of the new Education Minister.

Alan said PH Sarawak was particularly concerned about the proposal to close the IPG Miri campus by 2020 to give way to the proposed Institut Politeknik, as it was the first teacher training college in northern Sarawak built in 1957 and was still needed to train teachers in the northern region.

“I understand the concern from the people and NGOs in Sarawak wanting the campus to be kept as it serves its purpose in upgrading the teaching skills in the state,” Alan told The Borneo Post after receiving documents, details and protest letters from NGOs wanting the federal government to scrap off the plan.

Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Sarawak deputy director Mohd Zailani handed over the protest documents from NGOs to Alan yesterday.

Apart from IPG Miri, IPG Rejang and IPG Kota Samarahan are the other colleges in Sarawak which will be closed down as announced by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak during the Budget 2017 speech.

Nine teaching colleges nationwide would be converted into polytechnics and vocational colleges.

According to Alan, it is a national issue and urged the new PH government to abort the plan as the country still needs these institutes to train teachers, who are very much needed in the development of education in the country.

He pointed out that Sarawak had ample land which could be used to site the polytechnics and vocational colleges.

Alan disclosed that there is also an online petition from former IPG trainees pleading for the campuses in Rejang, Kota Samarahan and Miri to be kept.

At press time, he said there were 2,261 online petitions protesting against the proposal.

He also said 13 new recruits from Lawas to be trained at IPG Miri campus had to be diverted to Kuching, a move he described as illogical as it would mean the trainees would have to incur more expenses and time due to distance.