STU hopes Education Minister will follow through pledge to prioritise S’wak teachers to serve in home state

KUCHING (Dec 26): Sarawak Teachers Union (STU) hopes the Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek will follow through on her pledge to prioritise Sarawak teachers to serve in their home state.

In a statement responding to a recent announcement of Sarawak receiving 1,108 new teachers, STU president Kullin Djayang said the number is still not enough to resolve the shortage of teachers in the state.

“Therefore we hope that in the future, the Ministry of Education (MoE) will always supply more new teachers to Sarawak to adequately replace the teachers who have transferred and those who have reached compulsory retirement age,” he said.

The Sarawak Education Department (JPNS) in a statement on Saturday (Dec 23) said it has received 1,108 new teachers consisting of graduates from public and private universities for posting in the state.

Of the total, 422 teachers were given placement in primary schools and the remaining 686 teachers in secondary schools, effective this Thursday (Dec 28).

Kullin said STU appreciated and thanked the efforts of MoE, JPNS and the state Education, Innovation and Talent Development Ministry for their efforts in addressing the teacher shortage in the state.

He said this clear shows their commitment to ensure the smooth continuity of quality education for all students.

“The allocation of this number of teachers is expected to be able to cover a number of teacher vacancies to ease the duties and burdens of the existing teachers.

“We hope that the presence of these newly graduated teachers will give relief to the schools (involved), to foster a more conducive and effective learning environment,” he said

As a union responsible for the welfare and professional development of teachers, he said STU would like to assure the MoE and the public that STU will continue to work with all stakeholders to identify and deal with any educational issues that arise.

“Our goal is very clear, which is to take care of the welfare of the members who work at the school so that they focus more on the development of human capital to be competitive at the international level,” he added.