My cousin Lau Kung Sieng was trained in Rajang Teacher's College after she completed her Form Five in Methodist Secondary School in 1966. The Sixties were turbulent years in Sarawak. There were political changes after the formation of Malaysia and education needed to be provided in the rural and urban areas as demands from the population were strong
Many schools in the rural areas were started and there was a dirth of teaching staff. Missionary teachers, priests from foreign countries had to leave Sarawak and there were more vacancies. Some schools were even staffed with one or two teachers only!!
But then again the Teacher Training institutes were not able to train more than they had the capability to do so. The supply was not able to meet the demand.
And fresh graduates from the teachers' colleges had to be sent to places they had never heard of. Many experienced having to walk for a few days to reach their school and at night they had to use kerosene lamps.
A trained teacher was sent to school where he had to share a hut with three other teachers and when it rained they had to catch the rain water with their pails and find some dry spots to sleep. In less than a month they repaired their roofs on their own. Not that they had the experience to do so. There was no canvas in those days, and the town was a week's walk away. Besides they had no leave to make that journey. About 15 years later the same teacher said that a car could finally drive to the school using logging road but the quarters were still in poor shape.
Back to my cousin.
She was happy there as she was able to board in a good kampong house with two other lady teachers and they walked to the school to teach. Pusa was a small fishing town and the fishermen;s children were keen to study.
Her frist month was fine and all three lady teachers were able to cope with their food supply, some salt, some sugar and some condensed milk, They were able to buy fish very cheaply. Sometimes they received gifts from grateful parents.
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