By Ling Hui
KUCHING, Dec 10: The Sarawak government is looking into offering early childhood education courses in universities in the State to increase the quality of teachers, especially in kindergartens.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said he had requested Curtin University Malaysia to venture into this discipline while using Australia’s early childhood education curriculum as a model.
“What I did was, I asked Curtin (Malaysia) to look into it because Curtin in Australia has a special syllabus for teachers that are trained to deal with (early) childhood education.
“So, that can be done, and will be done,” he said, noting the importance of quality and innovative teachers who will be interacting with young children whose learning process is bound to be different from other age groups.
Abang Johari said there are many approaches implemented in other countries in terms of early childhood education that can make boring classes, enabling young students to learn faster.
While the quality of teachers is key, he said the Sarawak government would provide necessary assistance in terms of facilities and infrastructure.
“This is what we are going to do in terms of quality teachers for early childhood education.
“The other facilities we can provide and assist, but the key still lies in teachers who must be well-qualified to teach our young students,” he said during a townhall session at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here today.
Abang Johari was answering Association of Kindergarten Operators (AKO) Sarawak president Jason Kong who queried the Sarawak government’s initiative to help alleviate challenges and burdens faced by early childhood educators in the State. — DayakDaily
