The Education Ministry has set up a special committee to study ways to tackle the shortage of teachers in several states, especially Johor, Selangor, Sabah and Sarawak.

Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching said among the factors leading to the shortage of teachers in these four states was the high cost of living and the location of the schools in interior areas.

“The problem of a lack of teachers is not only in urban areas like Johor and Selangor, but also in interior areas like Sabah and Sarawak, and the ministry has taken steps to resolve it.

“It is still under control, but we need to find a quick solution, and one of the things we are considering is increasing the allowance so as to attract more teachers to the affected areas,” he said.

Teo was speaking to reporters after launching the National Research and Educational Innovation Conference  (PPIPK) 2018 at the Teachers’ Training Institute, Temenggong Ibrahim Campus in Johor Bahru today.

She said the critical areas now were Johor Bahru and Shah Alam as teachers were not keen on teaching here because of the high cost of living.

“We are also discussing increasing the cost of living allowance for teachers here, because these states are not their choice due to the high cost of living.

“However, this proposal is still being studied, because we need to identify the strategic areas which really need this and we will make an announcement after the committee report is completed,” she said.

Teo added that in the case of Sabah and Sarawak, the ministry had implemented the 90:10 policy, with 90 percent local teachers and 10 percent outside teachers.

“So far, we have reached 87 per cent of local teachers in Sabah dan Sarawak,” she said.

- Bernama