‘Ridiculous for govt to cut allowances for trainee teachers’

KUCHING: Allowances for trainee teachers should be a non-negotiable item in the nation’s budget cuts, said PKR Women national vice president Voon Shiak Ni.

Voon said it is ridiculous for the government to opt for the cutting of living expenses of RM430 for the trainees in teachers training colleges.

“It is an insult to the teaching profession for suggesting the trainee teachers to take National Higher Education Fund Corporation ( PTPTN) loan for their living expenses,” she said in a press statement yesterday.

Voon was responding to Deputy Education Minister Chong Sin Woon’s announcement last week that the government will stop giving allowances for trainee teachers from June next year.

Chong also said that those pursuing their teaching qualifications will no longer get living expenses and travel allowance.

The Ministry, however, will continue funding the undergraduate degree in Education ( PISMP). Existing PISMP trainees, he said would continue to receive the RM430 monthly living expense allowance and travel allowance not exceeding RM500 per year, until they graduate.

Chong said that the affected trainee teachers will now have to apply to the National Higher Education Fund Corporation ( PTPTN) for a loan to help with their living expenses.

“The training (for trainee teachers) should be viewed as part and parcel of the government’s employment of a teacher and the training is to equip and empower the teachers for the teaching profession as all of them will serve in their designated schools after the training. They are not given the choice to work in other fields after training,” Voon said.

In addition, she said the monthly allowance of RM430 is not a big sum of money but it is a little support needed to help ease the expenses on the necessary stationeries and the coursework materials and other incidental expenses incurred for the training.

“For the last 30 to 40 years, the allowance for trainee teachers was never an issue. Why the cut them now?

“If the nation needs these budget cuts to ease the burden of the national coffers, we do not agree that the teachers allowances are affected. It should be a nonnegotiable item in the cutting of budgets and expenses.”

Instead of cutting the allowance of the trainee teachers, Voon opined that there are many other unnecessary expenses which can be cut such as the massive allowances for all the ‘very important persons’ ( VIPs) in the nation.

“The large sums of housing allowance, holiday allowance, travelling allowance, and even allowances for the high ranking officers to attend meetings should be cut first. These allowances are not necessary as they are rich enough with their hefty salary each month.”

Voon said it is not only insensible but it is mean to deprive the trainee teachers of the little financial support for their two years of training to be teachers for the nation.