Employment Contract Mechanisms and Performance Evaluation in Cross-Border Community Learning Centres in Sarawak

Teacher management in cross-border nonformal education serving migrant workers' children remains underexplored, particularly how contract policy and performance evaluation are implemented under field conditions distinct from mainstream schooling. This qualitative case study examined the employment contract mechanism, the implementation of Teacher Performance Evaluation (Evaluasi Kinerja Guru, EKG), the relationship between the two in assignment-related decision-making, and the contextual factors and forms of misfit shaping the management of assigned teachers (guru bina) at Community Learning Centres (CLC) in Sarawak, Malaysia. Data were collected from March to May 2026 at three CLCs through semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and document analysis involving guru bina, guru pamong, CLC administrators, and representatives of Sekolah Indonesia Kota Kinabalu and the Indonesian Consulate General in Kuching. Findings show that although the 2+1+1+1 contract scheme and EKG rest on a clear regulatory basis, implementation departs from formal policy: EKG functions largely as an administrative coaching activity rather than a decisive basis for contract decisions, while continuation of assignment is driven instead by operational needs, replacement-teacher availability, and cross-border administrative and geographic constraints. These patterns reveal a persistent misfit between formal policy and field realities, prompting ongoing ad hoc adjustments. Interpreted through Contingency Theory, the study offers a conceptual account of guru bina management as an interdependent system and points to the need for adaptive, performance-linked deployment policy to sustain Indonesian education services abroad.