Sarawak teachers urged to draw lessons from 'The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind'

KUCHING, Aug 9 (Bernama) -- Science and mathematics teachers in Sarawak should use the story of a boy who witnessed a terrible drought in Malawi in 2001, which was made into a film, to inspire their students to become innovative, according to a Sarawak minister.

Sarawak Education, Innovation and Talent Development Minister Datuk Roland Sagah Wee Inn said the film, entitled “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind”, was an example of the best innovations by school pupils.

“Hands-on activities, games and anything related to local culture are very important in attracting the interest of students in rural areas. Traditional games and cultural richness of the community can be combined or to correlate with teaching and learning science, technological design and mathematics,” he said.

When officiating at the Dual Language Programme (DLP) Sarawak 2022 - Teaching Science and Mathematics in English here today, he said Sarawak required more competent and skilled human capital as it was gearing towards becoming a developed state by 2030.

“The goals and objectives of DLP Sarawak are to fulfil educational excellence and meet the needs of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0),” he said.

Sagah said the Sarawak government fully supported the DLP and his ministry had allocated funds to the Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus (IPGK) Batu Lintang here for the programme, with the hope that all teachers in the state would be well equipped with essential knowledge.

He said IPGK Batu Lintang had continuously led in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and innovation to contribute towards educational excellence in Sarawak.

The institute’s efforts, according to him, were reflected in its smart partnership with several schools to run innovative programmes like the Green Box with SMK St Theresa in Kuching, Drone Technology in Education with SMK Dalat in Mukah and Virtual Reality with SMK Sebauh, Bintulu and SMK Belaga, Kapit.

“I believe the trust given to IPGK Batu Lintang, assisted by IPGK Rajang and IPG Sarawak, will achieve the goal to improve knowledge and skills among teachers throughout Sarawak and eventually contribute to the aspiration of transforming the state into an IR4.0-oriented hub,” he added.

-- BERNAMA