BANGI: School teachers who have disciplinary problems will not be eligible for time-based promotion, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today.
"If you're not disciplined and you don't attend classes, I will cancel (your time-based promotion).
"We agree on the structure and principles of automatic promotion, but teachers who are negligent or have poor discipline must be excluded from it.
"So we have to be careful, but I believe 90 per cent of our teachers have no problem."
Anwar said this at the National Union of Teaching Profession's (NUTP) golden jubilee celebration here.
Present were Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek, Public Service Department director-general Datuk Seri Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz and NUTP president Aminuddin Awang.
Under the time-based promotion system, undergraduates who enter the profession at grade 41 will be upgraded to grade 48 after eight years.
After six years, they would be promoted to grade 52, and to grade 54 after another three years.
Reflecting on his stint as education minister, Anwar said teachers were often blamed when children took drugs or performed poorly in their studies, but accepted it as part of their responsibility.
He said it was the teacher's job to educate children to ensure they grew up to have humanity, therefore, students must have a sense of respect and love for their teachers.
"Whether it's Sekolah Cheruk Tok Kun, Bukit Mertajam Boys School, Malay College Kuala Kangsar or Universiti Malaya, I've never forgotten the contributions of my teachers.
"Because without them, other than my parents, it would not have been possible (for me) to have gained a foothold in my career, if they hadn't instilled that spirit in me."
He added that with that in mind, the welfare of teachers should be protected.
Meanwhile, he reaffirmed his commitment to upholding Bahasa Malaysia, and said its status as the national language and on national education policies should not be questioned.
He said as long as these principles were accepted, the usage of other languages, such as Chinese, Tamil, and Arabic, could be expanded.
"To improve our country's economy and development, we must also prioritise the English language.
"In this era of globalisation, digitalisation, energy transition, digital transformation, and artificial intelligence, our mastery of English must significantly improve to compete with other countries.
"However, this does not mean we are neglecting our national language."