The Sarawak government has been urged to look into further training for teachers and assistant teachers especially those in rural areas.
Gerald Rentap Jabu (GPS-Layar) said this would expose the teachers to new methods and to build their confidence.
“I am deeply concerned about the level of education in my constituency, and for the last three years there is a decline in student performance, and we were alarmed by the results starting from UPSR,” he said when debating the Head of State’s speech.
He said there should be no difference in the level of competency in schools in the city and rural areas.
“There were seven candidates who failed all their subjects in their SPM examination last year. They are unable to read and write satisfactorily,” he stressed.
He said his major concern was if the students cannot master the three core subjects – English, Mathematics, and Science – from the primary school level, how are they going to go on.
“I agree with the implementation of teaching Mathematics and Science in English in Sarawak. I hope we are prepared for this by doing proper intervention and having the proper syllabus at the pre-school level,” he said.
