(Raring to go: The new teachers rejoice at the end of the convocation ceremony at IPG Tun Abdul Razak Campus, Samarahan)
Kota Samarahan: housing and Urban Development Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg said the state govenrment is still negotiating with its federal counterparts to take in more Sarawakians to be trained as teachers.

He said if the negotiation was successful it could be the answer to getting teachers to willingly serve in the state's rural schools, most of which did not have enough teachers because of reluctance of those posted from Semenanjung Malaysia to serve for long in these schools.

He said the Chief Minister's department Datin Fatimah Abdullah had been tasked to negotiate with the Education Ministry for more Sarawakians to be enrolled in teachers' education campuses in the state.

Abang Johari said he was optimistic that a favourable decision would be reached soon given that the ministry's rector in-charge of IPG's is Sarawak born Datuk Dr Haji Haili Dolhan.

He said having more Sarawakians to be trained as teachers in would mean that the state's rural school would not have continually face the problem of Semenanjung teachers asking to be posted out every so often because they could not cope with the local culture and condition.

Source: The Borneo Post