Sarawak backs move to recruit 20,000 Grade DG9 education service officers — Sagah

KUCHING (Feb 15): Sarawak supports the Ministry of Education’s (MoE) move to recruit 20,000 Education Service Officers (PPP) at Grade DG9 this year, said state Education, Innovation and Talent Development Minister Dato Sri Roland Sagah Wee Inn.

Sagah said this is especially since Sarawak continues to face teacher shortages, despite the placement of 3,237 teachers in 2025.

“Actually, we were short of roughly 1,300 teachers across Sarawak. We support the MoE’s move, and we want to see more teaching staff deployed in the state,” he said after the monthly Ibu Pertiwi flag-hoisting ceremony here on Sunday.

When asked about MoE posting non-education graduates while many trained education graduates are still unplaced, he said the matter is governed by the ministry’s policy.

“The policy comes from the ministry. They will review how many apply, aside from those who are graduates from IPGs.

“Many graduates who are not from IPGs have taken relevant courses; however, some do not hold a professional teaching diploma,” he explained.

Furthermore, he said the Sarawak State Education Department will identify the number of teacher shortfalls, taking into account retirements and resignations among existing teachers.

As part of MoE’s early preparation for the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2026–2035 implementation, Director-General of Education Dr Mohd Azam Ahmad stated that the recruitment of Grade DG9 PPP would be on a Contract of Service (CoS) basis.

He said applications will be open from March 2 to March 20, while the interview screening process by the Public Service Commission Malaysia (SPP) will take place from April 27 to May 14.

Recently, the Education Deputy Minister Wong Kah Woh told Parliamentthat MoE placed 3,237 new teachers in Sarawak last year, taking into account existing vacancies and subject-specific requirements.

Meanwhile, Sagah, following the announcement of the Ujian Penilaian Dual Language Programme Sarawak (UP-DLPS 6) results last November, said the state is narrowing its teacher gaps, with 1,434 new appointees deployed on November 17 last year.

Also present were Deputy Minister of Education, Innovation and Talent Development Datuk Francis Harden Hollis; Kuching North City Commission Datuk Bandar Datuk Hilmy Othman; and Deputy Minister of Energy and Environmental Sustainability Datuk Dr Hazland Abang Hipni.