KUCHING: The Ministry of Education (MoE) has not set any ceiling value when it comes to the approval of development project applications by the director of the Sarawak State Education Department (JPNS).
This includes those funded by parties other than the ministry.
Development projects not funded by the MoE involve project development in the state for schools sponsored by the state government, private entities, and others.
Sarawak Education Director Datuk Dr. Azhar Ahmad said that his office has received a letter of delegation from the Minister of Education regarding this matter.
“The approval given grants authority to approve projects, including for the purpose of repairing dilapidated schools, school maintenance, repairing teachers’ quarters, and any buildings within the school,” he said.
He stated this at the SPM 2023 Examination Excellence Appreciation Ceremony at the department’s auditorium here yesterday.
In another development, he revealed that the power to appoint teachers in schools has not yet been given to the Sarawak JPN Director but remains under the jurisdiction of the Education Service Commission (SPP).
“They (SPP) will appoint teachers and hand them over to the MoE to be assigned to states including Sarawak,” he added.
Answering a reporter’s question, he mentioned that there is a possibility of the authority being granted to the JPN Director to appoint teachers in the future.
“There is a possibility, but I am not sure. We leave it to the government to decide,” he said.
Meanwhile, he announced that there is still a shortage of principals and headmasters in schools and that his office is in the process of filling all these positions in all districts.
On the RM200 million allocation for the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme, he stated that his office is always planning to increase student participation in this field.
“We will utilise the allocated funds to encourage student participation in the TVET field, including providing various related facilities,” he said.
Azhar added that participation in the TVET field is often included in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) field.
“We see in Sarawak there is a slight increase in student participation in the TVET and STEM fields.
“Additionally, it is in line with the state government’s aspiration to jointly increase student participation in the TVET field to become a developed state by 2030,” he said.
