Number of Chinese school teachers steadily rising

DEPUTY Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong chided the Opposition for alleging that the Government had failed to address the shortage of teachers in Chinese vernacular schools.

He said the number of teachers in Chinese schools had been steadily increasing over the years.

“When I joined the ministry in 2009, there was a shortage of 4,991 teachers and this was reduced to 3,043 in 2010, 2,720 last year and 1,874 this year,’’ he said.

Replying to a supplementary question by Hee Loy Sian (Dap-petaling Jaya Selatan), Dr Wee said the decrease in the shortage was due to the strategies adopted by the ministry.

Later in the Parliament lobby, Dr Wee welcomed Plan of Action for Malaysia’s (PAM) feedback on the ministry’s vocational training transformation programme among non-bumiputras.

PAM, comprising 19 non-governmental organisations, handed over a memorandum to Dr Wee outlining proposals for the ministry’s vocational training transformation programme.

Its chairman Tan Chin Yim said awareness amongst Chinese parents on the availability of vocational training was still low and the group hoped to help the ministry promote the programme.

On another matter, Dr Wee said Pakatan Rakyat’s disregard towards electoral reform efforts was a lead-up to the coalition’s 13th general election campaign through the upcoming Bersih 3.0 rally.

He added that Pakatan would use the rally to campaign that the recommendations by the Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reforms did not meet its demands fully.

“With the polls coming, I am sure they will carry out their campaigning,” he added.