Veteran educator recalls route to changing rural youths’ lives
ARMED with the determination to fulfil his mother’s dream and the belief that education could change lives, a 20-year-old Melanau youth left his hometown of Matu, in Sarawak’s Mukah divison, to teach at a small school in the state’s interior of Ulu Sungai Sarikei.
The 1965 journey did not just bring Nawawi Abdul Hamid to a school with mostly Iban students, it set the course for a nearly four-decade career where he witnessed the complete transformation of Sarawak’s rural education landscape.
Nawawi, now 81, recalled the days when teachers had to wade through rivers, walk for hours and live in poverty to ensure that children in the interior had the opportunity to gain knowledge.
“Since I was young, my mother always encouraged me to become a teacher.
“She once told me not to become a police officer as I could get killed.
“It is better to become a teacher, she told me. From that moment, I cultivated the ambition to teach,” he told Bernama.
After completing Form Three at a private secondary school in Sibu, Nawawi worked various jobs, including as a general worker at a primary school before working in a government department.
“The opportunity to change my life came when an acquaintance, Aini Dhoby, the elder brother of Sarawak independence fighter Rosli Dhoby, informed me of a primary school teaching vacancy in Sarikei and offered to help me apply.
“I agreed immediately. But before helping me, Aini warned, ‘If you become a teacher later, don’t mess around’.
“I still remember that message today.
Nawawi’s first school was Assun School in Sungai Munsuh, Ulu Sarikei, which then consisted of just three makeshift classrooms that housed pupils in Years One, Three and Four, alongside a modest teacher’s house.
At that time, only about 30 children from nearby longhouses attended the school, with about 10 pupils in each class.
Nawawi taught Malay, English and Mathematics.
After six months of service, he accepted an offer to attend a certificate-level teaching course at Rajang Teachers College in Bintangor, Sarikei, from 1967 to 1968.
Upon completing his training, he was placed at a school in Kampung Penipah, Pulau Bruit, Daro in 1969 before serving at Orang Kaya Sergunim Government Primary School, Jemoreng, Matu from 1970 to 1974.
During almost four decades as an educator, Nawawi also served at SK Orang Kaya Selair in Sekaan, SK Bukit Kinyau in Tanjung Manis, SK Abang Haji Matahir in Sarikei, SK Nanga Kelangas and SK Engkamop in Julau before retiring in 2004.
Recalling the challenges of teaching in rural areas in the early years, Nawawi said travelling to the nearest town to
collect salaries and buy necessities was not easy.
“At that time, there were not many roads. We had to walk and take boats.
“The one-way journey took between two and three hours.
“We also encountered communist members on the way. Thankfully, they did not bother us as long as we did not pose a threat to them,” he said.
Nawawi said that despite the lingering security threats at the time, the spirit of teachers and parents never wavered.
“Parents were willing to send their children to school despite living far away in longhouses.
“They believe that education can change the future of children,” he said.
According to Nawawi, big changes began to be felt when the government built more roads to rural areas and provided boarding facilities in rural schools.
“When I was teaching at SK Nanga Kelangas, many parents who lived far away requested that their children be placed in hostels because the government provided meals and learning facilities.
“Some parents even built huts near the school compound so that their children would not drop out. They would only return to the longhouse on weekends.
He said the rapid development enjoyed by Sarawak today had changed the rural education landscape as most schools were now connected to the road network, making travel to the town much easier compared to using river routes.
For Nawawi, witnessing this progress firsthand remains one of the most gratifying aspects of his life’s work.
He said the greatest satisfaction after four decades in service was neither rank nor recognition, but rather seeing his former pupils thrive.
“When I meet them now, some have become government officials, teachers and professionals. That is the true happiness of a teacher,” he stated.
