| Lyna Mohamad |
HIS Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam yesterday graced the ceremony for the 28th Teacher’s Day Celebration, which was held at the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Berakas.
Accompanying His Majesty were His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office; His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Malik; and His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Mateen.
Upon arrival, His Majesty was greeted by Minister of Religious Affairs Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Badaruddin bin Pengarah Dato Paduka Haji Awang Othman in his capacity as the co-chairman of the executive committee for the celebration and Minister of Education Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Hamzah bin Haji Sulaiman.
Shortly after the royal arrival, State Mufti Pehin Datu Seri Maharaja Dato Paduka Seri Setia (Dr) Ustaz Haji Awang Abdul Aziz bin Juned led a mass recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah dedicated to the memory of Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam and teachers who had passed away, which was followed by a Doa Selamat.
The ceremony then continued with the recitation of verses from Surah Luqman by Haji Mohamad Khairudin bin Haji Marajah @ Meraji, a religious teacher at the Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Religious School in Kuala Belait and the male champion of the 2016 Al-Quran Competition for Adults of the Belait District Level.
Following this, the Minister of Education delivered a welcoming speech, in which he highlighted several initiatives that are currently being carried out by the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) towards improving the quality of teaching and learning in Brunei Darussalam.
These initiatives include the literacy and numeracy programme; the establishment of a working group for the coordination of Islamic history education in schools and educational institutions under the MoE and MoRA; and the MoE’s scholarship award for technical and vocational education.
The minister disclosed that through the Literacy and Numeracy Coaching Programme (LNCP), 140 English and Mathematics teachers have been recognised as Accredited Local Coaches, who are currently undergoing Coaching Model Training to reach specialist level.
“In the programme for the employment of Local Contract Teachers (LCT), 101 qualified local graduates were contracted to teach English and Mathematics in several government primary and secondary schools early this year,” said the minister.
“This is a long-term programme to employ more local teachers of quality; and they are constantly provided with support and assistance through participation in various professional development programmes carried out by the LNCP, the Brunei Darussalam Teacher Association (BDTA) and the relevant departments at the Ministry of Education.”
The ceremony was enlivened with a performance themed Guru Dedikasi Pendidikan Cemerlang, featuring a combination of students and teachers from government and private primary schools, in addition to several students from Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD).
His Majesty then consented to present Teacher’s Day awards to 19 recipients, two of whom received the Meritorious Teacher Award, namely Dato Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Kassim bin Haji Lamat and Pengiran Datin Paduka Hajah Hairani binti Pengiran Maharaja Lela Pengiran Muda Abdul Kahar.
The Excellent Teacher Award was presented to Dr Lim Chee Ming of UBD (Excellence in Applied Physics, Material and Energy Science), Pengiran Haji Mohd Wahab bin Pengiran Haji Abdullah of the Institute of Brunei Technical Education (IBTE) Sultan Saiful Rijal Campus (Excellence in Culinary Arts), Naziancina Galarido Ward of Sunshine School (Excellence in Leadership) and Norliza binti Haji Zaini of Pantai Berakas Primary School (Excellence in Special Education).
Meanwhile, the Special Mention Teacher’s Day Appreciation Award was presented to Associate Professor Dr Haji Noor Azam bin Orang Kaya Maha Bijaya Haji Othman of UBD; Haji Jamil bin Haji Osman; Haji Adee Suhardee bin Haji Muhidin; Munif Ahmad; Dr Hajah Rosmawijah binti Haji Jawawi; Haji Ibrahim bin Haji Sahat; Mohd Kamarul Izzudon bin Haji Kamaluddin; Ashraf bin Azwar; Hajah Norasnida binti Haji Ramlee; Siti Zawyah binti Haji Ismail; Noor Faridah binti Haji Kasim; Nur Iman Yong binti Abdul Rahman; and Farizan binti Haji Rosli.
The Meritorious Teacher Award was first introduced in 1991, as recognition for professionalism among teachers.
His Majesty also consented to a group photo with the award recipients and the executive committee members for the celebrations, before viewing an exhibition at the ICC’s Plenary Hall.
Prior to departing the event, His Majesty consented to a Junjung Ziarah from teachers and students.