KUCHING: Teachers who have been offered placement to Sarawak must follow the rules and immediately report themselves for duty.
Deputy Minister of Education, Innovation and Talent Development Datuk Francis Harden Holis stated there is law and guidelines that must be adhered to.
He was responding to a news report stating that 222 out of 3,227 one-off teachers, who have been offered placement to Sarawak, did not report themselves for duty or rejected the offer up till Sept 30, 2022.
He said this when met by reporters after the officiating ceremony of the third Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) conference at Pullman Hotel here yesterday.
In the meantime, he did not rule out that teachers who rejected the offer did not have background in education.
“I believe they were offered different jobs and possibly did not hold a diploma in education, and that is why they did not take the opportunity,” he added.
Earlier, Sarawak Teachers’ Union (STU) has urged the Ministry of Education (MOE) to prioritise Sarawakians to become teachers in their own homeland.
Its president, Kullin Dayang said this was because they understood better the culture and the environment alongside the language.
“It is actually much easier for them to adapt to the surroundings including in the rural areas,” he said.
