Chinese school board prioritises professional devt of teachers — Temenggong

SIBU: Sarawak Chinese Private School Management Board chairman Temenggong Datuk Vincent Lau Lee Ming said yesterday it was their goal to provide professional training for teachers of Chinese Secondary Schools in Sarawak.

Speaking in an online dialogue with the heads of teacher training from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, he said the goal was to lift the training of Chinese teachers here with local and overseas Chinese institutions, but conceded this was a great challenge.

The board and local schools, he went on, carry the burden of passing on Chinese culture to the younger generations apart from providing them with education.

“From this traditional role, we are moving forward to ensure our education system meets the international standard. Only through this, we can let our students can face international challenges in higher education fields,” he said.

“We are seeking breakthroughs and transformation, and we are seeking to keep up with time and changes for global challenges for our students.”

Lau revealed that the board has been building a stronger teaching foundation since 2015 to increase professional teachers in their schools to 90 per cent, adding this was a 10-year plan.

“From 2015 till last year, we have increased these qualified teachers from 42.56 to 55.73 per cent.

“This is an increase in qualified teachers by 13.17 per cent in six years. There are 517 teachers in Chinese private secondary schools in Sarawak - an increase in our number of teachers by 7.97 per cent.”

Noting that educational development in this field needs time, Lau said the board is working towards this development with the management boards of all Chinese private secondary schools in Sarawak.

They are also collaborating with Taiwan National Teachers University in Kaohsiung to provide training for teachers here, he added.

“This class will open next March. This teachers’ university is one of three such universities in Taiwan.

“We are glad to receive the support from this University for the training of our teachers,” he said.