KUCHING: Sarawak Patriots Association (SPA) wants to know the rationale behind having teachers from Saudi Arabia in Malaysia to teach English, Mathematics and Science.
SPA chairman Datuk John Lau further asked why Malaysia did not request teachers from English-speaking countries instead such as the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States.
“Is there a hidden agenda behind this (having teachers from Saudi Arabia)?
“SPA did a check and found that education in Saudi Arabia ranks 145 out of 200 countries.
“SPA believes that the Sarawak government would reject teachers from Saudi Arabia. Let the 300 teachers be absorbed by schools in Malaya,” he said, commenting on federal Minister of Education Dr Maszlee Malik’s statement on this.
Lau also questioned whether the minister of education was taking the right direction to groom and prepare students for Industrial Revolution 4.0.
“Malaysia is still talking about whether to use English as a medium of instruction for Maths and Science subjects; where in countries like the United States are preparing students in coding, programming at a young age while in Malaysia, students learn coding and programming in Year 4, 5 and 6 from 2020 onwards,” he said.
Lau urged Maszlee to get his priorities right, by getting students to learn about technology, robotics, supply chain logistics, big data and block chain technology from a young age.
SPA felt that the education system needed to be reengineered to meet the needs of the job market.
