Minister to get study on overloaded teachers soon

Thursday May 13, 2010
PUTRAJAYA: A study is being done on the issue of teachers being burdened with unrelated work and the findings will be presented to the Education Minister within a week.
A committee, set up by the ministry, would also present its recommendations based on feedback from teachers, school heads and district education department officers, and school surveys, said ministry director-general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom.
The committee was formed last month after the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) voiced its concern over members not being able to concentrate on teaching.
Alimuddin said Education minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin would reveal details of the “New Deal” for school heads and teachers at Sunday’s national Teacher’s Day celebrations. He will also launch the festivities, themed Guru Pembina Negara Bangsa (Teachers, Builders of the Nation) at Universiti Malaysia Pahang.
In George Town, the state NUTP said it would defend teachers if school heads penalise them for not attending the clean-up programme scheduled for Teacher’s Day celebrations on Sunday.
State chairman Lim Ming Tzong @ Adam Alim Abdullah said teachers should contact the union if they were made to do so and they would raise the matter with the ministry.
“If teachers cannot attend school on that day because of other important matters, they should inform the school heads in advance for the administration to prepare ahead,” he said yesterday.
Lim said the union was, however, irked by a teacher here who sent out SMSes coaxing his colleagues to boycott the programme.
He said the teacher gave the impression that the SMS originated from the union.
Lim had since clarified the matter with state education director Ibrahim Moha­mad.
Department deputy director Ahmad Tarmizi Kamaruddin urged teachers not to listen to rumours and liaise with school heads. “I have sent the ministry’s circular on the programme to schools today (yesterday) reminding everyone that the programme is voluntary,” he added.
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