Temps fill teaching positions

1,482 hired to overcome shortage at Chinese schools

KUALA LUMPUR: The Education Ministry has placed 1,482 temporary teachers in Chinese vernacular schools nationwide since January to address the shortage in such schools, said Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong.

As such, there are only 392 vacancies now and headmasters need to appoint temporary teachers according to their requirements, he added.

Dr Wee said the temporary teachers would remain until they were replaced by trained teachers, adding that steps had been taken to address issues raised by stakeholders during meetings with a special committee which he chaired.

“The committee was tasked to resolve the teacher shortage problem in Chinese schools,” he told a press conference at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

Dr Wee said 100 “rehabilitation teachers”, who were not qualified to teach in dual languages, would be transferred to national schools immediately.

This was because students who were in the literacy and numeracy screening programme (Linus) were already weak in their studies and faced difficulty in understanding teachers who could not speak Chinese.

He said experienced and qualified teachers from the same schools would now be made rehabilitation teachers and their positions would be filled by temporary teachers.

“In line with the Upholding Bahasa Malaysia and Strengthening English ( MBMMBI) policy, it has been decided that Bahasa Malaysia and English for Level 1 (Years 1, 2 and 3) be taught by teachers qualified in two languages, while Level 2 (Years 4, 5 and 6) be taught by teachers who took the two subjects as their option.”

Dr Wee said it was also decided that teachers whose option was not Bahasa Malaysia or English (their original option during training was Chinese Studies) be offered the Additional Option Intervention Programme, adding that those eligible were teachers who had taught Bahasa Malaysia and English in Chinese schools for five years.