Zahid hints at polls after CNY
‘DON’T forget our big day will come. After the Chinese New Year, there will be another big day.’
HUTAN MELINTANG: Kindergarten and preschool teachers need to be given a special salary scheme to enable them to earn a reasonable income.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said this was so that they could focus on nurturing the young.
“The government’s wish is to help teachers who have been left behind, neglected and sidelined.
“We want them to be given a special salary scheme so that they will be better off,” he said when opening the Bagan Datuk Preschool Sports Carnival here yesterday.
He said the government proposed that the training for kindergarten and preschool teachers be streamlined to enable them to obtain a minimum salary, as they did not have a minimum salary scheme as accorded to other teachers.
Zahid said he had asked the Education Ministry, Community Development Department, National Unity and Integration Department and a number of higher education institutions to carry out a detailed study.
“There are teachers who receive a small salary while others, who teach at private kindergartens, get a high salary.
“When training and syllabi are streamlined, I hope these teachers will be given at least a minimum salary.”
Zahid said the streamlining of education needed to be done to avoid haphazardness between government and private educational institutions.
In BAGAN DATUK, after the groundbreaking of Politeknik Bagan Datuk, Zahid said the government was drawing up a mechanism to revamp the country’s early education system, including streamlining the curriculum and syllabi of kindergartens and preschools.
“Several proposals were made at the National Social Council meeting last Friday.”
He said the meeting also discussed the minimum salary for kindergarten and preschool teachers, and short-term courses for those with Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia.
Zahid, who is also Bagan Datuk member of parliament, urged kindergarten and preschool teachers who studied up to the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia level to take short-term courses to improve their livelihood. Bernama