KUALA LUMPUR: The Education Ministry must issue guidelines which spell out the scope and maximum limit of non-teaching duties that should be shouldered by teachers.
Education expert Dr Anuar Ahmad said the ministry must draw up these guidelines after consulting school administrators, teachers and parents to ensure all stakeholders were on the same page on the matter.
Anuar, a lecturer at the Centre of Community Education and Wellbeing at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, said a Guideline on Teaching and Non-Teaching Duties for Malaysian Teachers must come into effect quickly to stem the trend of teachers leaving the service early.
On March 21, Senior Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin revealed that the number of teachers who had opted for early retirement was almost equal to the rate of those who were on compulsory retirement.
The ministry, he said, would collect data on the reasons and service period of teachers opting for early retirement to better understand the issue.
Anuar said teachers were overburdened with non-teaching workload and early retirement enabled them to end the work pressure.
"In some schools, teachers oversee school canteen operations, manage textbooks and some are even tasked with ensuring the cleanliness of school toilets.
"They must also be part of committees, coupled with the dozens of reports and forms that they are required to submit to school administrators.
"The primary role of a teacher is to just teach. But, this is not the case in our schools today.
"Hence, the ministry must develop a guideline that sets the maximum teaching hours per week, the maximum number of committees teachers should be part of in a schooling session, and other details to reduce their burden," he told the New Straits Times.
Anuar urged school administrators to adapt to the instructions received from the ministry.
"When the ministry gives out instructions, it is for all schools across the country. The onus is on school administrators to decide and adapt to the instructions accordingly.
"For example, the government wants to promote digital teaching initiatives. Why should administrators of a rural school deprived of stable Internet access set up dozens of committees for that initiative?
"Another sore point for many senior teachers is that they are under-appreciated, compared with their counterparts in the civil service.
"In some schools, senior teachers with a DG48 grade still share tables with other colleagues when in other government jobs, those with the same grade have their own cabin space.
"So, the ministry must launch an audit exercise to upgrade facilities for teachers. This will provide them with a more satisfactory working experience."
The National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) suggested that the ministry hire teaching assistants to manage clerical work, such as data entry and record-keeping, for teachers.
NUTP secretary-general Wang Heng Suan said this would allow teachers to return to their core business of teaching.
"Online classes have also stressed teachers since unstable Internet access students' lack of response often hamper lesson plans.
"Some teachers even have to work or attend Zoom meetings at night when Internet access is more stable," he said.
A retired teacher, who wanted to be known only as Tia, said some teachers had to use their own money to buy LCD projectors and laptops.
Otherwise, she said teachers had to borrow such equipment from the school.
Tia said her children, who are also teachers, were burdened with additional workload due to the implementation of the home-based teaching and learning (PdPR).
PdPR, she said, was unsuitable for subjects that involved practical work and this led to poor student attendance, resulting in some students not mastering critical skills in a certain subject.
Tia suggested that the ministry study the proposal to hire teaching assistants before implementing it.