KUALA LUMPUR: Sarawak schools have filled nearly 99 per cent of their teaching positions but still have 500 vacancies, the Dewan Rakyat was told.
Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh said the state's overall teacher staffing rate had reached 98.84 per cent following the latest placement exercise on Sept 30.
"At present, there are 224 teaching vacancies in secondary schools and another 276 in primary schools in Sarawak," he said in reply to a question from Ahmad Johnie Zawawi (GPS-Igan).
Wong said secondary schools continue to face vacancies in subjects such as Science and Design and Technology, while primary schools require teachers for Mathematics, Music, and Guidance and Counselling.
He said the staffing rate stood at 98.61 per cent in secondary schools and 98.98 per cent in primary schools, following the placement of new teachers, including graduates from teacher education institutes (IPG).
Wong said that all 114 reserve teacher candidates from Sarawak have been appointed and given placements, while the Education Ministry continues efforts to address remaining vacancies nationwide.
He said the Education Service Commission (SPP) is conducting open-market recruitment interviews to fill vacant teaching positions, including those in Sarawak, with the exercise expected to conclude in November.
However, Wong acknowledged that matching reserve teacher candidates with available positions remained challenging as appointments depend on academic qualifications and subject specialisations.
"We need to examine their teaching options to ensure they can be matched. This depends heavily on the university degrees obtained by the candidates," he said in response to a supplementary question on whether candidates could be considered for vacancies outside their original specialisations.
Wong said 880 reserve teacher candidates nationwide have yet to be appointed, with the ministry having submitted appointment requests for 317 of them.
He said the ministry was also reviewing the qualifications of more than 500 remaining candidates whose eligibility was due to expire on Dec 14, including whether their degrees could be matched with other teaching subject clusters.
The ministry, he said, has sought the SPP's consideration for appointments or an extension of their eligibility, while matching teachers' qualifications with schools' actual subject requirements remained the priority.
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