Teacher shortage: Sarawak nearly doubles special recruitment drive positions to 2,180

KUCHING (Sept 20): Sarawak has nearly doubled the positions under the special teacher recruitment drive to 2,180 to address the shortage in the state, said Dato Sri Roland Sagah Wee Inn.

The Minister of Education, Innovation, and Talent Development said the increase was approved following a meeting between his ministry and the Education Service Commission (SPP) yesterday.

“Previously, we offered 1,140 positions for the Sarawak Special Recruitment.

“However, after the meeting with SPP yesterday, they decided that we will recruit 2,180 teachers this year under the Sarawak Special Recruitment.

“The response to fill these vacancies has been overwhelming, with over 15,000 applications from Sarawak and 2,000 applications from outside Sarawak,” he told a press conference for the Sarawak Career and Training Fair (SCaT) 2024 here today.

He said applicants who passed the initial screening had been called for an assessment test which assessed their character, personality, interests, suitability, as well as psychological and mental health.

“Following this, candidates will be called for a physical interview to determine their eligibility for these positions,” Sagah said.

It is understood that around 6,000 candidates who passed the psychometric test will be called for interviews in the second week of October.

The interviews are scheduled to be held in Kuching, Sibu, and Miri.

The state government is collaborating with the federal Ministry of Education and SPP on the Special Recruitment for Sarawak 2024.

Sarawak is expected to face a shortage of 2,373 teachers by Dec 31 this year.