KUCHING: Sarawak is short of more than 3,000 teachers, said Education, Science and Technological Research Minister Datuk Amar Michael Manyin Jawong.
According to Sarawak Public Communication Unit’s (Ukas) report, the minister said this after receiving a courtesy call from SMK Tebakang Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) exco members on Monday (May 3).
The purpose of the visit was to discuss education issues, particularly the declining performance of rural schools.
When contacted, Manyin said the shortage of teachers is for primary and secondary schools in Sarawak.
“We have talked about this for a long time. And I had a discussion with the ministry on this… So we are releasing a press statement on this maybe tomorrow (May 5). You just wait for the statement,” he said.
He then added that in Sarawak, the ratio of more than 90:10 of local teachers in the state has been achieved.
“For the 90:10 ratio, we have overshot already. It is more than that now. We have fulfilled this, and this is one of the reasons why we have a shortage of teachers.
“This is because teachers from Semanjung cannot come here anymore. It is because of the quota set,” he said.
On the issue of rural schools, the minister said they were given attention and focus to ensure they were on par with the schools in the urban areas.
“We focus on primary schools because they are the first platform to start honing students’ intelligence,” he said.
Manyin also called on teachers and instructors to continue their commitment to provide a good education for rural students.
He said the ministry also ensured that the quality of teachers and teaching staff was of an appropriate level besides providing the best teaching and learning infrastructure.
“Meanwhile, a centralised school for Tebedu constituency will still be implemented,” added Manyin.
