MP wants MOE to find 'out-of-the-box' solution on teacher shortage

 

Former deputy education minister Teo Nie Ching is urging the Education Ministry and the Education Services Commission (ESC) to think outside of the box and work together to address a teacher shortage.

This comes after a one-off teacher recruitment initiative had a glitch in its system which resulted in the applications of hundreds of qualified candidates being rejected.

In a statement today, the Kulai MP said hundreds of applications were turned down despite the candidates passing their recruitment interview last year.

"Hundreds of applicants who have passed an interview last year had their applications deemed 'overlooked' by the ESC following a system glitch.

"After passing the interview, these applicants were requested to submit certain documents by Dec 15, which they duly complied with. Nonetheless, these applicants did not receive their offer letter even though they have submitted their documents on the deadline set by the ESC.

"Among those who are facing this problem are postgraduates of Diploma in Education (majoring in the Chinese Language) from Universiti Malaya and also graduates of TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language), both are critical subjects that face acute shortage of teachers," Teo said.

She also said the one-off teacher recruitment exercise will be futile if qualified applicants who passed their interviews are not getting their placements.

“The ministry and the ESC should stop passing the buck and sit together to address the root cause of the issue," she added.

Education Minister Mohd Radzi Md Jidin

One-off recruitment

Last month, Education Minister Mohd Radzi Md Jidin announced that 4,828 candidates were chosen for the one-off recruitment of Grade DG41 teachers.

The recruitment programme, which was announced last year and involved 18,702 teachers, was an effort to address a teacher shortage.

Last year, a group of UM students who applied under the programme claimed they were turned down despite the ESC extending the recruitment programme to final term postgraduates.

"According to the National Union of the Teaching Profession, more than 10,000 teachers have been submitting their papers annually for early retirement over the last few years. This is in addition to the equal number of teachers who are leaving the service on mandatory retirement.

"Presently, the Education Ministry has a narrow and outdated manner of recruiting teachers where those undergoing training at the teacher training institute and public university courses will be recruited. Many talents outside this pool or category have no way of becoming a teacher in school unless by way of a special intake.

“It is time that the ministry looks for solutions outside of the box. We must think about diversifying the manner in which the ministry accepts teachers,” said Teo. - Mkini