End of the road
Temporary teachers asked to respect Education Service Commission’s decision to terminate their service
We have a commission to assess them. We cannot question but respect the decision. However, they (temporary teachers) can still apply again. The door is always open. They can apply three times and after that, if they are still passionate about teaching, they can apply again after two years.
The door is now closed for the 210 temporary teachers who are appealing for reconsideration of the impending termination of their service due to their failure either to attend interviews or for failing the psychometric test.
Their fate was sealed by the state Education Department director Rakayah Madon who asked those affected to respect the decision of the Education Service Commission ( SPP) to terminate their service.
“We have a commission to assess them. We cannot question but respect the decision. However, they ( temporary teachers) can still apply again. The door is always open.
“They can apply three times and after that, if they are still passionate about teaching, they can apply again after two years,” she said when met by reporters after the launching of ‘Guru Aktif 1Malaysia’ at SMK Lundu here by Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid yesterday.
Rakayah added that that the intake of temporary teachers was based on school requirements and the subjects that required their service.
Reinforcing Rakayah’s statement, Mahdzir said they would not be taken as temporary teachers if they failed in the interview, adding that it was also a requirement for them to go through the psychometric test.
“If we want quality teachers, then you need it. We cannot compromise on this, other (aspects) we can (compromise).”
He said unlike before, those with diplomas and degrees in education must now go through the required process and procedure set by the Education Ministry.
“Last time when you have a degree or diploma in education, yes...you can go straight to be a teacher but now, it is no more a ticket to become a teacher. You must go through the required process,” he said in a press conference after launching the programme.
Stressing that there was no problem with the appointment of teachers in the state, Mahdzir said the Education Ministry could provide training to qualified candidates at Institute of Teacher Education ( IPG) in the state.
“Now we want candidates and of course we need to fi lter them a bit. We cannot take everyone
Rakayah Madon, State Education Department director
and put them in IPG. It also depends on the subjects. The problem now is we don’t have enough candidates, because of insufficient applications.
“Islamic Studies subject for example, there was totally no application received. As for specific subjects like Science, Biology, Chemistry and Physics, we need to see whether the candidates are qualified or fulfi l the requirements before they can be trained in our IPG.”
Others present during the event included Welfare, Women and Community Wellbeing Minister Datuk Fat imah Abdul lah, Education director- general Tan Sri Dr Khair Mohamad Yusof and Education Ministry secretary- general Datuk Seri Alias Ahmad.
thesundaypost ( Sunday edition of The Borneo Post) front-paged an article ‘ 988 posts available but 200 to be axed’ regarding the plight of temporary local teachers whose services are to be terminated on March 15.
A letter made available to The Borneo Post listed 210 temporary teachers who were to be terminated for failing the interview or for not attending the interview conducted by the SPP.
Meanwhile, the group of temporary local teachers did not want to go for another round of interviews just for the sake of being re- recruited into the service.
The spokesperson explained that this batch of temporary teachers sat for their interview/ assessment in December last year.
Some candidates had failed the paper on psychometric, and they underwent a second interview/ assessment on Jan 17 which somehow did not include any test on psychometric.
The group’s spokesperson, who requested anonymity, said she and her peers had discussed the matter and they demanded that they be absorbed directly as permanent teachers.
“We don’t want to go back for another interview. The last interview that we had to go through already seemed unfair to us.
“We passed the first test with SPP, but why suddenly we are said to have failed?” she pointed out.
She said there seemed to be inconsistencies for the psychometric component, as the candidates were told to answer 300 questions within 30 minutes despite the instruction on the paper saying the test is to be completed within 90 minutes.
“It seemed that they purposely made us fail in the interview. They claimed most of us do not have good results.
“But in actual fact, all of us 239 (in this batch) graduated with Bachelor ( Honours) in Education. If we are not eligible, why did they choose us in the first place (to be temporary teachers)?” she asked.
She went on to say that they were all sourced from ‘ open market’, meaning those who have graduated from other public or private higher learning institutes other than the official teachers’ training institutes.
She also disclosed that more than 90 per cent of the current batch of 239 temporary teachers are Universiti Tun Abdul Razak graduates.
“Why the unfair treatment? Is it because most of us graduated from a private university?” she questioned.
Based on the list, Bintulu district is the most affected with 33 temporary teachers to be terminated, followed by Miri ( 24), Sibu (19), Subis (13), Kapit (12), Betong (11) and others.
The list also showed that the services of six temporary teachers in SMK Bakun, an interior school in Belaga, will also be terminated, as well as termination of other temporary teachers in rural and interior schools throughout Sarawak.