KOTA KINABALU – Of the 292 Sabahan teachers qualified to be hired under the Contract of Service Scheme, fewer than 40 were engaged this year in spite of the dire need for teachers in the state.
Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal wants the federal government to address the problem by hiring the remaining teachers on merit, as this would be less costly than transferring teachers from Peninsular Malaysia to the state.
Highlighting the continued neglect of Sabah in areas such as infrastructure, education and healthcare, he stressed the shortage of teachers in the state is another issue that has reached a critical stage.
He said there are also hundreds of dilapidated schools in Sabah, which deprive schoolchildren from getting equal access to education as their counterparts in other states.
This state of neglect has even extended to Sabahan teachers who deserve to be given employment opportunities.
“There is no reason why these teachers should not be hired because it solves the hassle of having to transfer teachers from other states to Sabah, which basically incurs higher cost.
“Furthermore, the government has already promised to support the ratio of local teachers to non-Sabahan teachers at 90:10 in this state,” he said in a statement here today.
“It is a great shame that even in matters concerning education the government has failed to give serious attention to Sabah. They simply do not listen to the problems that the people constantly have to suffer through.
“For the sake of the future of children in Sabah, settle this problem once and for all. We are building a nation. Why should Sabahans not get the same treatment as Malaysians in the peninsula? Are we not Malaysians too?”
Shafie said he plans to raise the matter in the upcoming parliamentary session this month.
During an online video meeting with Shafie last night, the teachers had expressed their plight and disappointment after an announcement on May 28 this year that nearly all of them failed to be hired under the scheme.
Prior to the announcement, Senior Education Minister Datuk Mohd Radzi Md Jidin had said that there were 2,400 vacancies for contract teachers who applied in 2021. – The Vibes, July 8, 2022
