MoE wants to reduce the burden of current teachers, increase employment and improve the quality of the education system

by S BIRRUNTHA / pic by TMR FILE

THE Education Ministry (MoE) will make a special recruitment of teachers on a “one-off” basis to fill the vacancies faced throughout the country, especially in Sabah, Sarawak, Johor and Selangor.

Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin (picture) said the hiring would involve a total of 18,702 grade DG41 education service officers.

The recruitment advertisement will be published on July 7 while the placement on a phase-by-phase basis will begin in October.

Radzi noted that this will be the largest teacher recruitment to date and the process will not affect regular hiring conducted by the ministry.

“The MoE will work with the Education Services Commission (SPP) and the Public Service Department to ensure that planning is more orderly.

“This recruitment aims to reduce the gap between teacher shortages and subjects that require more teachers,” he said in a virtual press conference aired live via Facebook yesterday.

In the meantime, he said the MoE wants to reduce the burden of current teachers, increase employment, as well as improve the quality of the overall education system.

Among the subjects identified to be having a shortage of teachers include English, History, Special Education, Islamic Education and Information and Communication Technology at the Primary School level.

Meanwhile, in the Secondary School level, the subjects include Bahasa Melayu, English, Special Education, Islamic Education and Design and Technology.

Apart from graduate teachers, Radzi said the ministry is also looking into hiring those who took relevant subjects in universities that could cater to the shortage.

He noted that while the MoE usually prioritises graduate teachers, it also wants to make sure that the ministry has quality teachers in the country.

“Therefore, we will look at all candidates who have the best potential and capabilities.

“We will keep adding new teachers because every year, there will be teachers going for retirement. We will also need new teachers when new schools open,” he added.

Radzi emphasised that these new teachers’ intake is part of the government’s National Recovery Plan, while the country faces the challenges imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

He added that both the MoE and the SPP will ensure the initiative’s success and the selected teachers are stationed at their respective schools by October this year.

On another note, Radzi said the MoE is currently in its final stages of setting up a new independent committee to look into the “period spot checks” allegations on female students in schools during the month of Ramadhan.

He noted that apart from the controversial period spot checks incident, the committee will also look into other similar issues that may arise in the future.

“There will be a more comprehensive process in this context, to ensure that when such issues arise in the future, we will be prepared to handle it in a more structured and orderly manner,” he added.

In April this year, a number of female students came forward on social media to reveal the practice of “period spot checks” during the month of Ramadhan at schools.

The students claimed that the physical spot checks were conducted to prove whether they are on their period and not using it as an excuse to skip fasting and prayers during Ramadhan.

Following the issue, several individuals, NGOs, civil society groups and the public have condemned the act, describing it as a violation of a child’s rights and against the law as they carry elements of sexual harassment or abuse.

In response, the MoE had said that it is investigating if such incidents were taking place in government boarding schools, and found no evidence that such practices existed so far.

Commenting on the progress of the investigation on the case, Radzi said there are no new updates as of yet, as this matter is still being thoroughly investigated by the ministry.