Contracts not renewed, so teachers left in the lurch

Although Sabah and Sarawak face severe shortage of teachers, the Education Ministry has turned its back on aspirants.

LAHAD DATU: Several teachers in Sabah have been left out in the cold after the Education Ministry refused to renew their contracts.

This, despite a widely known fact that Sabah and Sarawak are massively short of teachers.

Unhappy with the ministry’s lack of interest in their plight, some 73 “untrained” teachers, who have been teaching temporarily, have prepared a memoradum to be submitted to the government.

Spokesman for the group, Rahimah Sukarno, said the teachers had writted several application letters to the ministry asking to be absorbed into the “Kursus Dalam Cuti (KDC)’”and “Kursus Perguruan Lepas Ijazah (KPLI)” courses but have so far not received any reply.

“We don’t understand why we are not in the system. We are graduates who have been teaching for years,” said Rahimah, 35.

Rahimah, who has been teaching for four years said Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong had, last month, issued a statement stating that the “contracts of the 73 teachers” should have been extended.

“But apart from making a statement, nothing has happened. School has already started and we have still not received replies to our applications to join the KDC and KPLI courses,” she said.

Rahimah added that Salleh Kalbi (Silam MP) was assisting the group to submit its memorandum to the government.

“We hope that our contracts will be extended and we can be absorbed into the KDC or KPLI programme and become permanent teachers,” Rahima said.

Shortage of teachers

Meanwhile, Salleh expressed shock that the 73 teachers who were degree holders had been ignored when the state was in dire need of teachers willing to teach in the interior of Sabah.

“I am surprised at the situation. These teachers are degree holders and have experience in teaching.

“I hope the ministry will absorb them into the programmes and allow them to continue serving the community,” he said.

Last year, the teachers’ associations in Sabah and Sarawak blamed the shortage of trained teachers and school facilities in the state, especially in the rural areas, for their schools not making the country’s top 20 list of schools.

Sarawak Teachers’ Union president William Ghani Bina said both states needed teachers with experience and teaching skills.

“Also, each teacher must be committed to teach students and not merely wait to receive their salaries at the end of the month,” he said. - FMT