GUA MUSANG: News of English teacher Samuel Isaiah becoming a top 10 finalist for the 2020 Global Teacher Prize has not only caught the attention of all Malaysians, but also two Orang Asli teachers at a primary school here.
Asani Alang Selamat, 28, and Norazlina Juli, 25, who both teach at SK Kuala Betis, said they were inspired by the dedication shown by Samuel, also known as 'Teacher Sam', to his pupils.
"We share his pride at being nominated for the Global Teacher Prize. We are extremely touched by his dedication to helping Orang Asli children obtain good results.
"Both of us can only imagine how hard he worked to cope with his new environment and conditions, as well as dealing with Orang Asli pupils when he first arrived at the school.
"His hard work and patience appears to have paid off," said Asani, who is from the Semai tribe and teaches pre-school classes.
Norazlina, who is from the Semelai tribe, meanwhile, said Samuel has inspired Orang Asli teachers not only in Kelantan but also the rest of the country.
"When I first read the news on him, I was shocked that a non-Orang Asli teacher was able to engage effectively with Orang Asli children, as the majority of the kids do not know how to converse well in Bahasa Malaysia.
"Some may speak dialects that are difficult for others to understand. So when you have an English teacher who excels with Orang Asli kids, it opened our eyes to the possibilities.
"Hopefully, both of us can follow in his footsteps," said Norazlina, who teaches special relief classes at the school.
Asani and Norazlina are the only Orang Asli teachers at SK Kuala Betis. The school has 56 teachers and more than 100 Orang Asli pupils from the Temiar tribe.
Last Wednesday, 33-year-old English teacher Samuel from SK Runchang, Pahang, was named as one of the 10 finalists for the 2020 Global Teacher Prize.
The Universiti Utara Malaysia and Teachers Training Institute (Penang campus) graduate's hard work paid off when his pupils scored As for English in the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR), while the school's passing rate for the subject improved from 30 per cent to 85 per cent.
The Global Teacher prize has been dubbed the 'Nobel Prize' in the teaching fraternity and it awards the winner with US$1 million for the teacher's contribution.