Issue: Remote area

The highlighted issue is internet connectivity to schools in Sarawak, especially the

rural schools in July 2013. One of the major challenge then ( and still is) was
communication towers. In Sarawak, the business of communication towers is a
monopoly, controlled by some of the most powerful people in the state.The contractor
for 1BestariNet was not able to overcome the challenge then. The other issue was
compatible computers. The model considered most suitable was the Samsung
Chrome Notebook. The sole distributor for the Samsung Chrome Notebook in
Malaysia is also the contractor for the 1BestariNet. The supply of these computors
was not incĺuded in the contract. Students in Sarawak especially rural students are
greatly disadvantaged, in school and after.

You will have to do a lot of ‘hand-holding’ for these students, and their parents,” he
says, adding that parents from remote areas understand the importance of an
education. “But what they need to know is that a basic education only allows them to
read, write and do simple arithmatic, it will not get them far.” the living conditions of the
students and their families and what prevented them from coming to school.

Teachers in villages did not have sufficient competence and resources pursuing the
rapidly refined policies, e.g. educational curriculum. As a conclusion, educational
background of teachers in remote area should be creatively developed, not only
conferring marginal scholarship but also offering just inducement and salary. Apart
from working with inadequate provisions, teachers in remote areas, by a large
proportion, were more dedicated to their responsibility. Upgrading quality of education
in rural areas requires superfluous efforts.

A proper teaching faculty is an essential prerequisite for efficient running of schools.

However, due to the unavailability of good teachers and inexperienced teachers,
students and ultimately education system is the one suffering. Apart from
unavailability, a major factor responsible for lack of faculty is an improper teacher-to-
student ratio.

Hence, more schools with more experienced faculty is one of the steps towards
reducing this discrepancy.
It is one of the main reasons why rural people are more hesitant in terms of investing
in academics. Many villages in India, still don’t have a school of their own. Hence,
going to school requires covering a large distance of one’s village to that of the
school’s. Some of the pupils in my school has to stay during weekend because it takes
time to reach their village. They only get the chance to see their family during school
holidays. This lower down their spirit to have proper education. While, a lot of parents
might be looking forward for sending their wards to school, however, commutation
remains to be one of the limiting factors and essentially the biggest one for girls.
Sometimes, the pupils do not want to feel inferior but certain people in general make
them feel that way, making the task of connecting with them delicate. They want
people to look at them equally and give them an opportunity. One of the ways is to
give them motivational talks and positive energy. There are not many people who are
passionate enough to really go to the ground and work with them.

Initiated and supported by Sarawak Energy, the “Literacy for Social Inclusion Programme” was
developed specifically for Penan children who were lagging behind with their reading skills at
SK Tegulang, one of two primary schools the energy development corporation helped set up
within the Murum Resettlement Scheme. The programme was facilitated by Dyslexia
Association of Sarawak (DASwk) and organised in collaboration with the United States
Embassy in Kuala Lumpur and Sarawak Education Department.

The programme, extended to students from Primary 2 onwards, incorporates innovative, fun
and participative teaching methods to encourage students’ active learning to improve their
reading and writing skills. The programme adopted a tested phonics-based methodology
which was highly structured, intensive, repetitive, cumulative and multi-sensorial which have
been proven to facilitate learning.

Students who completed the programme received a certificate of participation at a closing

ceremony of the programme held at Long Wat recently.

Presenting the certificates was Sarawak Energy’s Head of Corporate Social Responsibility
Jiwari Abdullah who was accompanied by Senior Manager for Social Investment and

Community Development Joanne Tan Cho Yian （陈楚燕）and DASwk’s President, Dr Ong

Puay Hoon. Headmaster of SK Tegulang Anu Garing and Murum Penan Development
Committee (MPDC) Chairman Labang Paneh were also present.

According to Dr Ong, the programme is geared towards enabling the Penan community to be
on par with other communities in educational level.
She added that the literacy level among the children was relatively low with high rates of
absenteeism from school, drop outs and poor performance in examinations.

“Education is a fundamental human right, and if a child is literate he or she is able to participate
actively in learning activities in school. In addition, they will have confidence in socialising,”
said Dr Ong.

Sarawak Energy’s support is part of its ongoing corporate social responsibility to the Murum
Hydroelectric Plant project affected communities; particularly the Penan whose former semi-
nomadic lifestyle hindered their children from attending school regularly and completing formal
education.

In his speech, Jiwari stressed that education and young people is at the heart of Sarawak
Energy’s CSR strategy for the state and that the corporation hopes to support such
programme in other schools as well in future.

“We recognise and value the importance of education in advancing social and economic
development. Through strong partnerships with dedicated like-minded organisations such as
the Dyslexia Association of Sarawak, we hope that we can actively work towards
complementing efforts by the government to support students in rural areas requiring special
attention so that they too can participate in the mainstream of development,” he said.

Also at the ceremony, both the Long Wat and Long Malim (Penan) communities received
books for their mini community libraries which was set up to encourage and inculcate the
reading habit among the young.

Sarawak Energy’s CSR initiatives on education for the Murum resettled communities started
in 2012 with the introduction of the Murum Penan Literacy Program, with over 300 adult
Penans now able to read, write and do simple arithmetic.

Reflecting on the recent Sarawak English Language Education Symposium, one of

the speakers talked about the importance of support in improving pupils' English
proficiency. "You know, as a new teacher, we are often ambitious and want to do as
much as we can to give our best to the school, and most of the time these efforts get
put down because the school community wouldn't support them. Some teachers would
claim they shouldn't organise any events during the weekends because it's their only
time they can rest and be with their family. Due to this, after all kinds of obstacles and
setbacks, the suggested English event gets canceled." I think this is something we all
should seriously ponder on. I also have people telling me that they can't organise
English camps or English Week because there isn't any funding provided. Sometimes,
the teachers have to spend their own money to get the event running and that is a pity.

If you ask me what is the secret to building a school community that speaks and
understand English fluently in a rural school, my answer would be to have a strong
support not just from your colleagues, but also from the parents. Like many of my
friends have mentioned, I am lucky to be posted to SK Ulu Lubai because of its
background and history of supporting the English teachers. I dare not to take credit for
all the achievements because I am new here. It was the previous teachers who were
here before me. They are the ones who did it all and I am here to just continue and
improve their legacy. Plus, every event that I plan to organise would be strongly
supported by my school's headmaster. This is the biggest pillar of support. He is the
one to gather the fundings and he even suggested to up level every project. However,
if you're wondering, "does that mean I can't contribute to the development of the
English language in my school if I don't get any support?" No, you can still do so much
by collaborating with other schools. Otherwise, organise small events that you can
handle alone or with minimal help because after all, it is the little things that matters
the most. Last of all, never stop striving for greatness because we are here to build a
brighter future for our pupils. We control their future. Whether they fall into failure or
rise to success, it is all up to us. Don't work just because of the salary.