BY Jacqueline David
KUCHING: The Sarawak Education Department (JPNS) has handed over the issues regarding the Sarawak Special Teacher Recruitment drive for 2024 to the Education Services Commission (SPP) for resolution.
Sarawak education director Datuk Dr Azhar Ahmad said discussions had been held between the Ministry of Education, Innovation and Talent Development (MEITD) and the Ministry of Education Malaysia (MOE) and SPP regarding the recruitment of teachers.
He added that it also involved Contract of Service (CoS) teachers in Sarawak, including new hires this year.
“Therefore, in this matter, we leave it to the responsible parties, especially the SPP, to resolve the issues that have been raised,” he said when met during the 2023 PPD Padawan Excellent Service Award (APC) ceremony at a hotel here last night.
On the interview of teacher candidates in this special recruitment, he said he was being informed that the figure for the actual number of teachers who underwent the interview would only be released by the SPP and it is still in process.
“However, I understand that the number of teacher candidates who attend this interview is indeed large and should be sufficient for Sarawak’s needs for November,” he said.
Recently, Education, Innovation and Talent Development Minister Datuk Seri Roland Sagah Wee Inn said that about 2,000 candidates who had been shortlisted in the Sarawak teacher recruitment programme were called to attend in-person interviews from Oct 8 to 10 in Kuching, Sibu, and Miri.
According to him, the interview also involved 300 candidates who had an Education Certificate from outside Sarawak who had passed the Teacher Candidate Eligibility Test (UKCG).
Following this, Sagah also expressed his disappointment with the SPP for not keeping its promise to fill about 1,733 vacancies available in the recruitment programme involving Sarawakians only.
Through the special recruitment offer, SPP also received more than 15,000 applications and about 2,000 were shortlisted for in-person interviews involving the three locations.
In the meantime, Sagah hopes that all the vacancies can be filled by the people of Sarawak and hopes that SPP can do their ultimate best to fulfill the state’s aspirations.
