Sarawak Chinese education association Donglianhui has urged the Education Ministry to solve the shortage of headmasters for Chinese primary schools in the state.

Its president Chong Chee Phin told malaysiakini that two schools - SRJK(C) Kiew Nam and SRJK(C) Hua Nam - have been facing this problem for more than 10 years.

According to him, the poor salary scheme is one of the major reasons behind the shortage.

"It's hard to be a Chinese primary school headmaster. There is so much work and the pay is just slightly higher than normal teachers, just RM100 or RM200 more," he said.

In view of this, he called on the ministry to increase the salary scheme for headmasters.

"I believe teachers who are now playing the role as substitute headmasters in their schools will consider taking up the job if there is better payment," he said.

Another Sarawak Chinese community leader, who declined to be named, said the shortage has caused much problems and teachers who act as substitute headmasters cannot carry out the work effectively.

"They are just normal teachers who do not have the power of a headmaster and they cannot make important decisions for the school. So, we really need headmasters," he added.

West Malaysians uninterested

He also pointed out that the education department could not find suitable candidates because they were looking at West Malaysian teachers, whom he claimed were not keen on working in Sarawak because of the distance.

He also agreed with Chong that a higher salary scheme could help fix the problem.

According to Sin Chew Daily , there are 25 Chinese primary schools in Sarawak with no headmasters. Sibu topped the list with seven schools.

The state education department promised to fill up at least 10 vacancies by June 16 while the rest will be done subsequently.

Meanwhile, the Chinese community leader said it was difficult to find qualified applicants for the posts, especially when it concerns schools in rural areas.

He said a qualified candidate should be someone who could speak, write and understand Mandarin.

"It's alright if he or she is non-Chinese, as long as the person has some knowledge about Chinese culture," he added.

He said there was one case where a non-Chinese speaking principal was sent to SRJK(C) Chee Meng in Miri and this led to many communication problems.