Time for the Education Ministry to work closely with Teachers

Have we got too many bureaucrats in the Ministry of Education?
It seems that way with this article in today’s New Straits Times that reveals the following:

 Less than 5% of the total number of 320,000 teachers are serving in rural areas.
 Headmasters and the department are giving teachers the runabout when they try to fill vacancies in schools.
 There are indications that some teachers are able to pull strings to get favourable postings.

It seems that not much has changed to solve the serious problems in the teaching profession and perhaps the NUTP should have a more important role to play in the running of the department.

For starters, more men should be encouraged to become teachers as many boys in schools are taught mainly by lady teachers and this may affect their development.

Women are also more reluctant to get involved in physical education and one can observe some teachers conducting PE classes from the shade of the nearest tree!

Perhaps that is the reason why Malaysia is not taking part in the World Cup. Our boys are more like sissies and potato couches.

The Ministry of Education should publish a simple web-site with a list of all schools, the required complement of teachers and the current number assigned to that school with some details of those on maternity and study leave.
This data should be updated every fortnight so that all teachers will know where to apply and headmasters will not be able to refuse willing teachers.

For rural postings, female teachers could be posted in pairs to improve security or the headmaster of the school could assist in searching for suitable accommodation with a family.

If the Ministry of Education is not run efficiently to meet the needs of our young children, we will never become a developed nation by 2020.