Near-death experiences fail to dampen Sabah teacher's spirit

By Olivia Miwil - May 15, 2021 @ 2:06pm

Getting stranded in the middle of the forest is part and parcel of Jusseh Agitor's duty since teaching at SK Pengaraan. -- Pix courtesy of Jusseh Agitor.

KENINGAU: Travelling up to six hours along off-road trails to get to work and harrowing accidents on dilapidated bridges are part of Jusseh Agitor's experiences in her almost three decades of teaching.

The 53-year-old, who teaches in rural Sabah, has also had to spend some nights along dense jungle trails when the weather is bad.

When she started teaching in 1993, her first posting was SK Labang in Nabawan where boats were the mode of transportation.

Four years later, she single handedly taught about 30 kids at the new branch of SK Labang at Kampung Simatuoh before getting a few other teachers to assist her.

The makeshift school, which was built by villagers and without proper flooring, saw even older children attending classes.

"I was supposed to teach Year 1 pupils only, but other kids of other ages also joined.

"I had asked the older children, including a 13-year-old, to go to the secondary school, but they were comfortable with learning the basics with us," she said, adding most of the children back then never attended schools.

The challenges of teaching in the interior did not go away with Jusseh's transfer to SK Pengaraan in 2012.

The four-wheel-drive vehicle stuck in a large hole on a bridge leading to her school. -- Pix courtesy of Jusseh Agitor

Located about 150km from the town, she could reach the school within three hours if the weather was good. However, it would be a six-hour drive or more if it rained.

"There were times that we had to spend the night in the jungle if the road became impassable. While waiting for conditions to improve, we would see foxes, wild boars and snakes passing by us.

"There were also incidents where our Suzuki almost fell off from a dilapidated wooden bridge that linked the school," Jusseh said, adding she usually either has her husband to accompany her or carpooled with other staff.

Last year, Jusseh and her husband escaped unhurt when their four-wheel drive vehicle got stuck in a large hole on a damaged bridge.

While another car helped to pull their vehicle out of the gap, Jusseh stepped on another broken part of the bridge and almost fell six metres into the river below.

Fortunately, she had been clinging on tightly to her husband's hand at that time, and she was pulled to safety.

These brutal road conditions is not the only factor that sees a high turnover of teachers at the school as it is also costly to maintain vehicles which ply these routes.

Although school staff receive additional monthly allowance for interior postings, they still have to fork out more for the frequent repair works on their four-wheel drive vehicles or motorcycles.

Jusseh, who is currently SK Pengaraan's senior assistant teacher (management), said she perseveres for the sake of her pupils.

Her pupils' parents are mostly farmers.

School staff bring in food and other necessities for children staying at the hostels.

"Many have asked whether I want to ask for a transfer at a school in town, but it never occurred to me that it's that bad to be at an interior school.

"For me, it is something I am used to," said Jusseh who attributed her adventurous personality to her father who worked as a Police Field Force (now known as General Operations Force) personnel.

She also said she does not hold any resentment over her choices.

Brutal road conditions leading to the school. -- Pix Pix courtesy of Jusseh Agitor