BE FAIR OVER CHINESE TEACHERS DISPATCH CALL
KOTA KINABALU:
The Education Ministry has been urged to be fair and more considerate to Sabah in dispatching Chinese language teachers.
The Progressive Education Foundation’s (PEF) Consultative Committee Chairman, Datuk Wong Yit Ming made the call at the PEF incentives presentation for the Chinese language trainee teachers of Gaya and Kent Teachers Training Colleges for the 2009 intake.
In his speech, he expressed his concern over the dispatching of the State’s 13 out of 16 Chinese language teachers by the relevant authorities to the other states last year. “If such a trend persists, then it would be impossible for us to effectively address the issue of shortage of Chinese language teachers in the State,” Wong said.
“The Federal Government should always ensure the provision of sufficient qualified Chinese language teachers for Sabah. It should not wait until the various Chinese organizations in the State like the Association of Sabah National-Type Chinese Schools (Dong Lien Hui), Sabah Chinese Primary School Working Committee complain about it, then only dispatch of some teachers who do not speak Mandarin to some of the schools which are facing acute shortage of teachers.”
Wong noted that PEF will continue to do its best to encourage more people to take up Chinese language studies as well as encouraging them to teach in various parts of Sabah after completing their studies.
In another development, Wong urged the management of these schools to make good use of the Government allocations announced by the Education Ministry recently to better upgrade the teachers’ hostels. He also advised trainee teachers to be prepared for the unique trend in Sabah where there has been an increasing number of Bumiputera children enrolling themselves in the Chinese primary schools over the years, especially in the rural areas.
“So, please don’t be surprised if in future you come across a Chinese primary school whose students are 100 per cent non-Chinese,” Wong said.
At the ceremony, PEF founder Datuk Yong Teck Lee presented the education incentives to the 44 recipients, namely 16 from the Gaya College and 28 from the Kent College. The Foundation will later reimburse the other batch of 20 other over recipients. Since its inception in 1995, the PEF had been giving out education incentive worth RM1,000 to those who take up teachers training course at the local teachers training colleges.
Due to a limited number of Sabahans who have taken up the Chinese language studies this year, the Foundation earlier announced that it would also give out similar incentives to those from the other States who are willing to teach in Sabah.
