Addressing long-standing Iban language teacher shortage

KUCHING: The shortage of Iban language teachers is not something new and has caught the attention of Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.

“He has taken the approach of discussing with federal Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek to transfer the Iban language study centre to local universities in Sarawak, particularly Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas).

“This move aims to address the critical shortage of Iban language lecturers at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI),” said Nelly Tawai, vice-president of the Sarawak Indigenous Intellectuals Association (Perantis) in a statement on Thursday (July 25).

Nelly Tawai

“During the May DUN Session, Tamin assemblyman Ir Christopher Gira Sambang revealed that 693 primary schools with 67,308 students are currently taking the Iban language subject,” she said.

“The quota for Iban language option teachers is 352, while the required quota is 593. This means there is still a shortage of 241 Iban language option teachers needed in primary schools,” said Robbia Jarup, head of the Women’s Movement, Perantis.

Robbia Jarup

Furthermore, for secondary schools, there are 83 secondary schools with 20,070 students taking the Iban language subject.

“The quota for Iban language option teachers is 79, while the required quota is 182. Therefore, there is still a shortage of 103 Iban language option teachers in secondary schools,” she said.

This has proven the significant complexity of the Iban language teacher shortage problem in Sarawak.

“If this issue is not addressed, it is feared that it will affect efforts to improve the mastery of the Iban language among the younger generation,” she added.

The Iban language is no longer just an ethnic language for use and spoken by the Iban community alone, but it has grown to become one of the languages that can be learned by the general public.

“It is not only a ‘mother tongue’ language but also a culture, ensuring that this language continues to be preserved,” she said.