Full education autonomy too costly for Sarawak, says state minister
Roland Sagah Wee Inn says teachers’ salaries alone would cost the state an estimated RM50 billion a year.
Sarawak's education, innovation and talent development minister Roland Sagah Wee Inn has declared that full autonomy over education is financially unfeasible for the state. Seeking complete control over educational matters would be too costly, with teachers' salaries alone estimated to amount to RM50 billion annually, according to the Borneo Post.
"We cannot afford to spend that amount of money," Sagah stated, emphasizing that the funds might be better allocated to other areas of development. Following his remarks on the 4th International Conference on Educational Research and Innovation 2026 in Kuching, Sagah acknowledged that significant federal taxes are deducted by the central government.
Despite this, he noted that major administrative conflicts between the state government and the education ministry had been resolved. Sagah emphasized that the priority for Sarawak is to ensure greater flexibility in managing education matters. He clarified that the term "autonomy" does not necessitate extensive control, stating that as long as there is ease in conducting business, it is sufficient.
The use of English for teaching Mathematics and Science, as well as the Sarawak Dual Language Programme Assessment Test (UP-DLP), are cited as examples of progress in Sarawak's educational autonomy. Furthermore, Sagah highlighted the incorporation of artificial intelligence and digitalization into the curricula of all teacher training institutions, acknowledging that the state is still lagging behind developed countries in this aspect but is making strides to catch up.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
