KUCHING: Sarawak Bumiputera Teachers’ Union (KGBS) has called on the Ministry of Education (MOE) to transform the nation’s education system in facing the challenges and uncertainties posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

KGBS president Ahmad Malie said that the existing system could not cater to the current educational needs during the pandemic and MOE should not continue to rely on it.

“The union is of the opinion that the ministry should form a panel to transform the curriculum model and to find a more suitable teaching and learning approach in accordance with the current scenario,” he said in a statement on Saturday (May 15) when asked on KGBS’ hopes and aspirations in conjunction with the upcoming Teachers’ Day celebration.

On top of that, KGBS hopes that the MOE will provide good infrastructure to aid with the implementation of the current trend of learning.

“We hope that our recommendations will be prioritised along with other government’s development plans to ensure our education system will always remain stable,” he said.

Commenting on this year’s Teachers’ Day celebration, Ahmad stated that this year was the second year for the celebration to go virtual among the teachers due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He further explained that ever since the pandemic hit the nation last year, the education sector had been badly affected.

“KGBS sees the situation as very challenging and it was really felt by the teachers and those who worked in the sector.

“In some countries, their education systems were paralysed due to the pandemic.

“However, all of us have to be grateful that our education sector has continued to function in order to ensure our children will not be left out in terms of their education,” he said.

The union then wished all teachers in the nation “Happy Teachers’ Day”.

It hoped that the celebration will inspire the teachers to continue to perform their duties with full dedication to strengthening the nation’s educational performance. This year’s Teachers’ Day theme is “Learning for Knowledge, Shaping a New Generation”.