NUTP: The issue is to reduce irrelevant work

PETALING JAYA: The National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) thanked Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik for listening to teachers and taking heed of their unnecessary documentation workload.

NUTP secretary-general Harry Tan said the issue is not to reduce the workload but to reduce irrelevant work.

“This will enable teachers to have more time to teach, have face time with students, to learn about the students’ ability through continuous assessment and also for the teachers to have more interaction time with the parents.

“The idea is to always make sure that teachers are doing what they are supposed to do and not get distracted,” he told The Star.

He added that there may still be problems faced in the future with the abolition of the excessive paperwork but “the keyword is to constantly engage and check if we are going in the right direction”.

Senior English teacher A. Leela said she can foresee that teachers will be less stressed with the new initiatives in place.

She said teachers can now concentrate on teaching students rather than all the “unnecessary paperwork” they have to do.

“A happy teacher can definitely perform better in teaching and will concentrate better on their students,” she said.

This will lead to more enjoyable classes and a higher rate of school attendance, she said.

“If students and teachers are happy then successful learning and teaching will take place,” she said.

Fellow English teacher L. Shamala said she was glad the ministry was addressing the teachers’ workload issue.

Describing the initiatives as a “real relief ”, Shamala said teachers would be able to concentrate on their “core business” – teaching – and be freed from the hassle of preparing reports and documents.

Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said teachers’ paperwork issue was being addressed as it was the main complaint she had heard from teachers.

“Parents have also complained that teachers aren’t able to teach properly because of all this paperwork.

“Hopefully, a large portion of this workload can be reduced so that they can concentrate on teaching.”