Education always begins at home

SARAWAK needs enough school teachers.

Having been assured of support by the Education Service Commission (SPP) that the state could proceed with that special teachers’ recruitment drive, any change of heart on the part of the authorities is strongly resented by intelligent Sarawakians.

Sarawak has been banking on this special recruitment drive to solve a particularly serious shortage of teachers in the state. Unfortunately, as the plan was being finalised, a new condition popped up – 300 recruits must come from Peninsular Malaysia – no reason given.

A somewhat lame explanation was later provided via an indirect channel.

The Borneo Post (Oct 10) had reported the Sarawak Bumiputera Teachers Union (KGBS), to the effect that the ‘lack of Islamic religious teachers in Sarawak was the possible reason for inclusion of the peninsula candidates’.

Are there not enough candidates from Sarawak competent to teach religion?

This inclusion of 300 recruits from Peninsular Malaysia means reduction of candidates from Sarawak – as simple as that.

All will be well if the Commission had reverted to the original arrangement. I am sure that Sarawakians would be prepared to forgive and forget.

The controversy has been seized upon by the local politicians allied to the state government.

I overheard criticism levelled at the local ministry of education.

This is not fair! The ministers and the officials are doing an excellent job for Sarawakians.

Perhaps, they are too trusting of others, a characteristic of many Sarawak leaders – to be trusting.

The schoolchildren and their parents are watching what is going on: revisiting the politics of federalism, once common in the 1970s and 1980s.

We are sending the wrong signal. Parents of school-going children are worried that their children will be exposed to what appears to be a culture of mistrust among the very people who are responsible for the pursuit of quality education in Malaysia.

Trust is fundamental in human relations. The educators, of all people, are inculcating a negative attitude in the young minds!

I have nothing against any school teacher from anywhere in the world, provided that he or she is well-trained, dedicated and motivated, and does not have any hidden agenda.

Long before Malaysia came into being, Sarawakians who had the chance to go to school at all were taught by the teachers recruited from Malaya, India, Hong Kong, Australia, England and Ireland.

The teachers got ‘acclimatised’ and adapted to the local culture gradually. Over time, some stayed behind upon retirement.

Some married locals, and their children are true-blue Sarawakians.

No problem.

It is said that the Peninsular Malaysian teachers have the tendency to ask for a transfer after working for a few years in a rural school.

In extreme cases, a few ran away after just a few weeks!

These are possibly isolated cases. Anyone saying that all Peninsular Malaysian teachers tend to behave this way is to generalise things a bit.

I knew of a few teachers from Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Selangor. They were good teachers, now happily retired in their own respective states and longing to pay a visit to their old schools in Sarawak.

Anyway, the reason for giving precedence to Sarawakians in this particular recruitment exercise is to accommodate the many qualified candidates in the state.

If ‘charity begins at home’, then education begins at home too!

Once the state has enough home-born teachers, then any properly qualified teacher from anywhere else in the world may come and teach in our schools.

Religious teachers may come if that is the federal government’s policy, but place them at the appropriate schools where their service is needed, and make sure they are not trying to convert students of other religions, or teaching extremism.

The problem of adaptation is something personal. If a teacher only wants to teach in an urban school, do not recruit him or her. That teacher will not be able to concentrate on teaching in a rural school; a townie is a liability to the rural school.

Any teacher who is fussy about food or cannot work with other teachers, would not be a good educator anyway.

The chap who can only live where he gets constant WiFi for his mobile phone is not of much use in a remote village, where children have to climb trees to send off their online examination papers.

If he is a bachelor, make sure that he gets married before posting him to a rural school; send teachers (husband and wife) instead, and give them proper accommodation.

The parent-teacher association (PTA) must give the couple the necessary cooperation, and maintain the necessary rapport.

By the way, have the dilapidated schools and teachers’ quarters been well repaired? There has been a lot of talks about the topic, but talks will not fix a leaking roof.

My appeal to the Education authorities, the SPP and/or the Federal Government itself, is to let the special teachers’ recruitment exercise in Sarawak go on as planned by the state government.

* The opinions expressed in this article are the columnist’s own and do not reflect the view of the newspaper.