KUALA LUMPUR: The teacher recruitment rate in Sarawak has risen to 98.06 percent, according to Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek. This development is attributed to a collaborative effort involving the Ministry of Education, the Education Services Commission, and the Sarawak Government under the Sarawak Special Recruitment 2024 initiative, aimed at addressing the teacher shortage in the region.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, as of November 30, 2024, there were 41,125 teachers recruited out of 43,334 available positions in Sarawak, leaving 2,209 vacancies. The Education Services Commission recently announced the results of the 2024 Teacher Recruitment Open Market and Sarawak Special Recruitment interviews, with 7,645 candidates successfully offered appointments in these recruitments.

Of those appointed, 1,372 candidates are designated for placement in Sarawak. The Ministry of Education is responsible for assigning these teachers to schools to fill the existing vacancies. This initiative has reduced the num
ber of teacher vacancies in Sarawak by 837, bringing the teacher placement rate to 98.06 percent, Fadhlina noted in response to a query from Chiew Choon Man (PH-Miri) during a session at Dewan Rakyat.

Furthermore, Fadhlina reported that, as of November 30, the Ministry of Education has placed 13,749 new teachers in permanent and Contract of Service positions across primary and secondary schools nationwide.