Elias Lipi Mat
MIRI (Sept 23): Dayak Think Tank Association Sarawak (DTTAS) said it is high time for the Ministry of Education (MoE) to act immediately to resolve the shortage of Iban Language teachers.
In a press statement, DTTAS also expressed concern that if not resolved, the problem could affect the standard of Iban language as a whole and may become a critical issue in education in Sarawak.
Its president, Elias Lipi Mat, said in view of this, DTTAS is proposing three suggestions that the MoE can adopt to resolve the matter.
First, the one-off intake of 18,702 teachers that will take place soon must also fulfil the needs of Bahasa Iban teachers in primary and secondary schools.
“Secondly, MoE must give priority to graduates of teachers training institutes (IPG) and graduates with teaching degree from certified institutions to fill up the vacancies.
“Thirdly, increase the intake of Iban Language trainees at teaching institutes to at least 100 trainees annually.
“This will ensure that we do not face problems of teachers’ shortage for this particular subject in the future,” he said.
He added that the problem of insufficient Iban Language teachers will become a critical issue in education if MoE fails to resolve the matter comprehensively.
“MoE must give priority to Iban Language as the language is already highly recognised in the country’s education syllabus.
“Therefore, DTTAS welcomes the motion debated by YB Datuk Robert Lawson Chuat in the Dewan Rakyat for the MoE to immediately address the issue of shortage of Iban Language teachers in Sarawak,” he said.
Elias added that if the problem is not resolved now, it will jeopardise the effort to improve the usage of Iban Language among the younger generations here, as the language is already included in school syllabus,
He said presently, Iban Language is not just an ethnic language or a language spoken only by the Iban community, but it has evolved into a language used and mastered by people of all races.
“Therefore, the need for Iban Language teachers in primary and secondary schools in our country must be resolved,” he stressed further.