Teacher Training in Sabah
Tanya Ling Bell, International Content Marketing Manager COR HQ
Date Published
Estimated reading time
5–7 minutes
Addressing a circle of teachers, Mukmin Nantang, leader of Borneo Komrad, leans forward to meet each participant with his eyes. “It’s not about getting it perfect, it’s about being here for each other,” he reassures.
It is the first of March, the afternoon before a two-day teacher training program at Pusat Latihan Lomunu, Penampang kicks off. Teachers from all across Sabah trickle in with suitcases in hand from the west to east coast districts of Kota Kinabalu, Papar, Tuaran, Semporna, Tawau, Kalabakan, Beluran, Sandakan, Beaufort, and Keningau. Dr Kathryn Rivai, co-founder of the Coalition of Learning Centers Sabah, beams as each participant approaches the gate, immediately rushing up to offer a hug. With training events occurring at least three times a year for the past decade, she welcomes back both old and new friends.
Teacher training events such as this are a lifeline in Sabah, as unstandardized curricula and often uncertified educators struggle to meet the diverse needs of hundreds of thousands Indigenous Sabahans and stateless children of Malaysian, Indonesian, and Filipino descent. Together with Borneo Komrad, a local youth-led advocacy and student organization that operates four ALCs, the COR Malaysia team (CORM) co-hosted the first training program of 2024 from March 1st to 3rd, marking the scaling up of COR’s operations since our arrival in 2023.
With an expected attendance of 60 teachers from the Coalition, Mukmin later reveals that more than 70 teachers have registered representing over ten learning centers including Madrasah Al Hikmah, Sekolah Alternatif, Humana, Teaching Home Education, and COR partners: Etania Schools, Stairway to Hope, and Elshaddai Centre.
The Coalition of Learning Centers Sabah emerged in 2015 as a collective of regional institutions committed to upskilling and networking teachers. They aim to gather several times a year. 
Pak Hendra and Ibu Riri, a husband and wife from Arus Sawit Learning Center drove over ten hours by motorbike to attend the teacher training. 
Scott Wong is the current Program Director of the Rolf Schnyder Foundation. With over 25 years of experience in marketing, internet systems and multimedia, he is a developer in several digital literacy education programs. 
Nabihah Hashim (left) and Hana Farina Awaluddin (right) are experienced educators from Arus Academy, a social enterprise promoting educational solutions for students and teachers. 
Angela is the Administrator and Operations Manager at King’s Guidance and Resource Center, a trusted project partner of CORM in the Literacy Enrichment Program. 
Teacher Osman from King’s Guidance and Resource Center is a faciliator in reading sessions and library management for CORM’s Literacy Enrichment Program. 
Learning centers are networks of individuals with ambition, resilience, and care for the community they serve. 
Rolitah Robinson (left) and Jeremy Chin (right) held an interactive session about vocational training. Representing the Dignity for Children Foundation, these speakers have over two decades of experience in teaching, program leadership, and training. 
Teaching vocational skills such as sewing, food and beverage preparation, woodwork, graphic design, and hairdressing can provide new opportunities for stateless children. 
Aimie, CORM’s Project Officer, supported the teachers in developing their lesson plans and shared her knowledge of classroom management skills. 
Auzellea Kristin Mozihim (also known as ‘Zell’) is an educator from the Malaysia Ministry of Education. She took the stage to guide teachers through the simplest yet effective approaches to teaching English. 
Communication exercises and gamification tasks helped the participants channel their creativity and rediscover their inner child. 
Indra, CORM’s Senior Project Officer, has a degree in Education and years of teaching experience from primary level to university level. 
Teacher Meiko from Sekolah Alternatif Semporna of Borneo Komrad led reflective session called “Circle of Love” to help the participants connect with each other. 
Team members from COR HQ came to support The CORM team in hosting our their the first ever teacher training event.
Over the next two days, participants followed an extensive program of sessions, workshops, and discussions running from 8 am to 10 pm. With twelve keynote speakers from the Rolf Schnyder Foundation, Arus Academy, Borneo Komrad, Dignity for Children, and the Malaysian Ministry of Education, the program included six sessions covering the topics of digital literacy, classroom management, pedagogical techniques, and vocational training.
High student-teacher ratios mean that teachers must utilize a range of techniques and resources, sometimes the students themselves, to facilitate their learning. However, even this does not consider the challenges of caring for students with special needs.
Teacher Eles from Stairway To Hope told us of a time when a special needs student mentioned feeling neglected in a class of 40 to their parents, who raised the issue with the school. She explains that participating in the training program with her colleagues allows them to address issues together, stating “We asked ourselves this, how do we want to handle this situation? Because it’s more challenging than we’ve ever heard of or knew about before.”
The hardship and immense struggle teachers experience daily is something difficult to accept, and even harder to conceptualize. So often our focus – as teachers, educators and an organization – centers the child. And although children remain at the heart of our educational action, consideration for the surrounding support system is a necessity. It is not only the stateless children that are forced to follow an alternative path in education, but so are the teachers.
Crossing milestones such as this teacher training program, Calls Over Ridges acknowledges the importance of celebrating the wins as much as grieving the losses. Despite the challenges we endure and the uncertainty of the future, the strength and resilience of the Sabah teacher community is an undeniable force.
To witness the reverberations of our support for these teachers is a major source of pride. By bringing together teachers and expert speakers from across Malaysia, we unite behind the movement for quality education and amplify our impact from a single teacher to a whole school, an entire region and thousands of children.
