What has the Ministry of Education done?

China Press, Editorial, June 30th 2015

The shortage of Chinese school teachers issue is still not solved yet. The Ministry of Education gave the excuse that many Chinese school teachers have retired this year. The Ministry also declared that the number of students in those low enrolment SRJK(C) schools had increased greatly after shifting to the new site. It further added that new teachers from Sarawak must serve in their home state under the new government policy.

The shortage of Chinese teachers is always a headache for the Chinese community. The Chinese community is always concerned about the lack of Chinese school teachers and they opined that this problem must be addressed urgently. Year in and year out the same problem is still not solved by the government.

In March 2012, the Ministry of Education called for a round table conference to solve the problem of shortage of Chinese school teachers. At that time they were positive that the problem could be solved in June 2013. They also announced eight measures to solve the shortage problem and the professional problem of teachers once and for all.

The special committee was a disappointment

After a lapse of 3 years all promises announced by the committee were only empty promises. This was because the Ministry of Education still had not discovered the reason for the shortage of Chinese school teachers. Furthermore they also did not take any prompt and effective measure to tackle the problem. Thus the shortage of Chinese school teachers still persists every year. Many people opined that is it due to the absence of a Chinese deputy Minister in the Ministry of Education who is concerned about the shortage of Chinese school teachers.

The Ministry of Education should take measure to identify the source of the problem. The Ministry should have the figure for the number of teaching staff required and the additional consideration of earlier retirement of teachers which must be accounted for. The Ministry should not regard sending just enough teachers or engage temporary teachers to solve the problem. There may be a sudden rise in teachers who retire earlier which will cause problems and affect the learning process of the pupils.

The Ministry of Education should treasure the temporary teachers

It was proposed that the Ministry of Education, Jiao Zong and the headmasters must work hand in hand to finalize the number of Chinese School teachers needed. Earlier the Chinese school organization stated that there was a shortage of 1,140 teachers but the statistics at the Ministry of Education showed only 28 teachers. The vast difference in figure was not acceptable by all parties.

Besides the problem of shortage of Chinese School teachers, the government should also treasure the temporary teachers in the service. Although they are not government servants but they should enjoy the emolument benefits. The Chinese primary schools had already agreed to engage the service of the alternative source of temporary teachers. What has the Ministry of Education done? Why was there no consideration given to schools until the Board of Governors and the PIBG had to fork out the wages of temporary teachers?

A teacher is the engineer of the soul, a good teacher will prosper the nation and they are the ones who will nurture the pillar of the nation. Hopefully the Ministry of Education will settle the shortage of Chinese school teachers permanently as in later years the cream of Chinese primary schools will also contribute to the development of the country.

Original Source:
教育部做了甚麼？