The Education Ministry will offer teacher training courses to an equal number of men and women, in an effort to ensure a balance of male and female teachers in future.

The intake will also comprise 40% trainees from the peninsula and another 30% each from Sabah and Sarawak.

“This way, the ministry can ensure that those from Sabah and Sarawak can be posted back to their home states while those from the peninsula work here.

“Currently, teachers from the peninsula are sent to Sabah and Sarawak, and vice versa. This has created problems.

“We can also solve the problem of posting teachers to the interior,” Deputy Education Minister Dr Puad Zarkashi said at a dialogue with parent-teacher associations of schools around Batang Kali near here yesterday.

He said posting female teachers to the interior had raised concerns from various parties, especially in terms of security.

On another note, he said the Barisan Nasional government would never forsake vernacular schools in the country.

On the contrary, he said, it would continue aiding these schools.

Fuad said that apart from Chinese and Tamil schools, the Government would also safeguard Islamic schools as these played a vital role in human capital development.

“It is the duty of the Government to ensure that all schools get equal attention. We will continue to provide grants and aid to vernacular and Islamic schools,” he said.