By Karen Bong
KUCHING, April 30: There is a shortage of 61 primary school and 60 secondary school teachers in Bintulu division, said Assistant Minister of Education and Technological Research Dr Annuar Rapeee.
However, the Education Department has undertaken several steps to fill these vacancies.
“The measures taken include posting of new teachers, including new recruitments; redeployment or transfer of existing teachers; and seeking approval from the Ministry of Education (MoE) for the appointment of interim teachers,” he told Chiew Chiu Sing (PH-Tanjong Batu) during question-and-answer time today.
On the appointment of interim teachers, Dr Annuar said the state government needed support and help from Pakatan Harapan (PH) lawmakers.
“We need to seek approval from MoE for the recruitment of interim teachers. These interim teachers are actually a buffer for us to have recruitment of new teachers,” he explained.
“Interim teachers can be university graduates, for example in the English language subject, provided that they must pass a psychometric test, and they will proceed for an interview.”
Dr Annuar added that the graduates who met all the requirements would then be posted to a school for at least three years.
“Upon completion of their service, and they decide to be a permanent teacher, they will have to go for the ‘kursus dalam cuti’ (a course while on holiday) before they can be given a permanent post as a teacher,” he said.
He expressed optimism that with the help of elected representatives, including those from PH, they could meet the demand or improve the number of teachers in Sarawak. — DayakDaily
