From"The Borneo Post" - 15 February 2009

Don’t force students to buy workbooks: STU president

By Peter Boon
Workbooks put unnecessary burden on low-income parents, says Ghani
SIBU: Teachers should not insist on students buying workbooks as this would put unnecessary financial pressure on low-income earners.
“For low-income parents who have a number of school-going children, imagine the amount of money each child needs for workbooks,” said Sarawak Teachers’ Union (STU) president William Ghani Bina, yesterday.
In a telephone interview here, he said that the use of workbooks was not compulsory in school.
Hence, he urged all teachers to advise their students to buy only the very necessary items.
He suggested that teachers should emphasise more practical exercises in class rather than depending on workbooks.
“They can, for instance, create their own exercises based on the textbooks which also have exercises on grammar, comprehension and so forth to further boost understanding,” he said.
Workbooks, he said, are meant for extra exercises on things like grammar, comprehension and so on.
These are necessary but not compulsory, he said.
Still, he appealed to the relevant authority to equip each school (both primary and secondary) with a photocopy machine.
“This would lighten the burden of parents who can’t afford workbooks or other necessities,” he said. He urged parents to be more flexible when asked to make contributions for printing educational materials such as exam papers, workbooks and so on.
“After all, the amount is much cheaper compared to buying workbooks,” said Ghani, who has been in the teaching profession since 1975.

Dari Akhbar Mingguan Sarawak - 8 Februari 2009
BERHATI-HATI BUAT KENYATAAN BERHUBUNG ISU AGAMA:

Kesatuan Guru Sarawak (STU) memohon para peminpin dan semua pihak di negara ini agar berhati-hati dalam membuat sebarang kenyataan atau menyuarakan pendapat mengenai isu perkauman.

Presidennya, William Ghani Bina, membuat rayuan tersebut semasa berucap pada majlis Ramah Tamah Tahun Baru Cina 2009 anjuran STU di pejabat Bahagian Kuching hari ini (Sabtu)

"Api memang senang untuk dimulakan, namun jika ia sudah menjadi besar akan menjadi susah dikawal, sehingga mungkin menyebabkan ia membakar diri orang yang memulakan," katanya.

Ghani berkata perbincangan mengenai perkara seperti itu (isu-isu perkauman dan berkaitan agama) tidak sepatutunya dibuat secara terbuka, dan bukannya dibuat secara peribadi seoalah-olah bertujuan memulakan hasutan, terutamanya ketika keadaan ekonomi dunia yang tidak menentu sekarang mungkin membuatkan seseorang itu sukar mengawal perasaannya.

"Saya ingin merayu di sini, bagi pihak STU, agar pemimpin dan rakyat Malaysia mengawal diri mereka dari membuat komen-komen yang boleh menggugat perpaduan di negara ini," katanya.

Majlis itu dihadiri oleh ahli-ahli exco STU Pusat dan bahagian Kuching.

Ghani menggambarkan STU sebagai 'mini-Malaysia' dan ahli-ahlinya di seluruh Sarawak terdiri dari mereka yang berasal daripelbagai latar belakang kaum dan agama, dari semua negeri Malaysia.

"Pada setiap hari perayaan, ahli-ahli kita yang menyambutnya namun tidak mempunyai saudara-mara di sini boleh menyabut bersama kita. Kita di STU, tidak kira apa bangsa atau agama boleh menyambut setiap perayaan bersama-sama," kata beliau.