Fadhlina (third right) presents aid to one of the children affected by Covid-19, while Pkharuddin (second left), Azmi (second right), Azhar (right) and Hardian look on.

KUCHING (Jan 28) The Ministry of Education (MoE) aims to resolve 50 per cent of the shortage of teachers in Sarawak, which is estimated to be about 3,000, before the new school year starts in March, said its minister Fadhlina Sidek.

“For the shortage of teachers, we will address that and we are going to settle that before the opening of the schools. There will be new placements by March and we will try to resolve 50 per cent of it first because the issue of placement is not only affecting Sarawak but other states as well.

“We will work it out with the Ministry of Education, Innovation and Talent Development in Sarawak to resolve that, together with the Sarawak Education Department. We will monitor closely on the issue,” she told a press conference after visiting SMK Batu Kawa here today.

Prior to the press conference, there was a brief dialogue session with teachers from other schools, and a total of 13 questions were raised.

Fadhlina noted that most of the questions concerned school facilities and teachers.

She said besides prioritising on resolving shortage of teachers, her ministry is also focusing on improving school facilities.

“On infrastructure, especially dilapidated schools, that would be under our responsibility and commitment under the seven aspirations of the ministry.

“That is why I have announced an aid of RM150,000 to this school for its maintenance. During this trip to Sarawak, the schools we have visited were given aid for facilities maintenance, because we know the issues relating to facilities are under the responsibility of the ministry for the sake of student safety and comfort,” she said.

Earlier, Fadhlina had also presented cash aid, contributed by Farm Fresh – a Malaysian dairy company as part of their corporate social responsibility – to the children who were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

In her speech, she called for more strategic partners to help these children in their welfare and education.

“As a Covid-19 ‘alumni’ and a mother of six children, what worried me when I was down with Covid-19 was what would happen if I’m no longer around, who is going to take care of my children. It was a reminder of how precious every second in life is.

“For that, I’m very thankful to all the agencies, the community and the people of Malaysia during the Covid-19 pandemic. We have to ensure that post-Covid,  children affected by the pandemic will have their welfare taken care of and their education not neglected,” she said.

Also present were the director-general of education Datuk Pkharuddin Ghazali, Sarawak State Education Department director Datu Dr Azhar Ahmad, Yayasan Didik Negara chief executive officer Hardian Hadir, and Farm Fresh Berhad chief operating officer Azmi Zainal.