Senator Jaziri Alkaf A Suffian
KUCHING (June 21): The Education Ministry (MoE) has been asked to prioritise graduates of public and private universities with degrees in education, and those graduating from Teacher Education Institutes (IPG) who have yet to receive placements.
Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) Sarawak chairman Senator Jaziri Alkaf A Suffian said this in welcoming the MoE’s special one-off recruitment of 18,702 teachers to address shortages in four states including Sarawak.
“I believe Sarawak also has a pool of highly talented and potential young people who are ready to contribute and serve the nation.
“I hope that there is no bureaucracy that can slow down the teacher recruitment process,” he said in a statement today.
He said the recruitment exercise is the best solution and needed to be done especially for Sarawak and Sabah, which face critical teacher shortages.
Jaziri said Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin’s announcement yesterday was one of the comprehensive steps taken in resolving the prolonged teacher shortage crisis, which is worsening, especially in Sarawak and Sabah, which are quite large territories with many rural folk.
“Therefore the move to recruit teachers on a larger scale by the Ministry of Education is timely and very helpful in solving problems that have been lingering for so long.
“This will certainly benefit the people of Sarawak who are quite critically short of teachers and at the same time help improve the quality of learning and skills of Sarawak’s children for a better future,” he said.
He said the MoE’s move indicated the ministry and the country’s leadership, especially Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, are serious about resolving problems faced by the people.
Yesterday, Radzi said the application for the special recruitment of grade DG41 education service officers will be open from July 7 to enable the teachers to be placed in their respective schools in stages from October.
Besides Sabah and Sarawak, teacher shortages are also faced in Selangor and Johor.
Radzi said the decision to conduct the recruitment drive was made after thorough discussions with the Public Service Department (PSD) and the Education Service Commission (SPP).
He also said the main challenges in teacher recruitment include a lack of IPG candidates and a mismatch of subject options.
Among subjects with teacher shortages in primary schools are English, History, Special Education, and Religious Education, while in secondary schools the subjects include Bahasa Melayu, English, and Islamic Education.