‘Two teachers in one classroom concept needs intensive planning’
CYBERJAYA: The implementation of two teachers in one classroom requires intensive planning as well as depending on the government’s ability as it will increase the number of existing teachers and will involve huge expenses, said Deputy Education Minister Datuk Chong Sin Woon.
He said it was a good proposal and had been implemented in developed countries where one teacher played a role as an assistant.
“However, the reality is that Malaysia is still in its efforts to meet the demand of teachers in schools before we can have two teachers in one classroom,” he told reporters after presenting the English Proficiency Certificate to 15 hearing impaired students from Zhengzhou Institute of Technology, China at Limkokwing University of Creative Technology here yesterday.
Chong was asked to comment on Education director-general Datuk Dr Amin Senin’s statement that the ministry was ready to consider the implementation of two teachers in a classroom concept.
Currently, there are about five million pupils and 450,000 teachers nationwide, he added.
“If we implement the two teachers in one classroom concept, the number of teachers will have to be one million and this will cost a lot,” he said.
Chong said the country needed to give priority to meeting the needs of teachers at under-enrolled schools before implementing the proposed concept.
On recruiting teacher assistants at schools, Chong said, so far, only a pilot project was implemented.
“If the ministry has a new budget, it will be fully implemented”, he explained. — Bernama