PETALING JAYA: The education ministry has asked the Education Service Commission (SPP) to appoint 317 reserve teacher candidates to fill teaching vacancies nationwide.
Deputy education minister Wong Kah Woh said the request, made last month, covers some of the 880 reserve teacher candidates still awaiting offers.
He noted that out of the 4,417 reserve teacher candidates from the 2025 intake, 3,537 had been offered appointments, including 114 candidates from Sarawak, as of Sept 30.
“SPP is currently conducting interviews for the 2026 teacher recruitment drive. This process began in May and is expected to conclude in November,” he was quoted by Bernama as saying in the Dewan Rakyat.
Wong was responding to Ahmad Johnie Zawawi (GPS-Igan), who asked about the number of reserve teacher candidates from Sarawak, vacancies by specialisation and plans to recruit them into the service.
Wong said the placement of new teachers and graduates from teacher education institutes as of Sept 30 brought Sarawak’s overall teacher fill rate to 98.84%, with rates of 98.61% in secondary schools and 98.98% in primary schools.
He said Sarawak had recorded 500 teacher vacancies, comprising 224 vacancies in secondary schools and 276 in primary schools.
Wong said secondary school vacancies included specialisations such as design and technology and science, while primary school vacancies were concentrated in mathematics, music, and guidance and counselling.