KUALA LUMPUR - The Malaysian Education Ministry is committed to closing the education gap in the interiors of Sabah and Sarawak by primarily focusing efforts on dilapidated schools, says Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek.
She said in line with Budget 2024, the ministry would focus on building new schools in the interiors, without marginalising the two Bornean states.
"We want that (schooling) balance to happen and when we talk about co-curricular development and character development, it also includes infrastructure development," she said at the press conference of the Malaysia Teacher Prize 2023 ceremony here, today.
At the ceremony, teacher Muhammad Nazmi Rosli of SK Long Sebangang, Sarawak won the top honour, taking home a cash prize of RM50,000.
Muhammad Nazmi, who is also an English teacher, was chosen for his efforts to educate students at school by creating classroom simulation exercises, where his students were introduced to common life experiences such as entering a laundromat or boarding an airplane using only recycled materials.
As a pioneer of Kelab Filpen (short films club) Muhammad Nazmi said he also provided opportunities to his students to express themselves through the making of short films including 'Teether', which was accepted at the Horror Unleashed film festival in Portugal.
Commenting on his victory, Muhammad Nazmi said he was very grateful that his persistence finally paid off.
"For me, this platform is an opportunity to not only share the story of our daily lives as educators, but also to highlight the roots of our life goals, both inside and outside the classroom," he added. - BERNAMA