T C Goh
KUALA LUMPUR: The Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Huazong) has welcomed and supported the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) move of offering its ‘one-off’ teacher recruitment exercise to graduates in education, whether from local or overseas public or private universities.
Its President, Tan Sri T C Goh, hoped that such a move could help to resolve the ongoing acute shortage of teachers facing Chinese primary and secondary schools in the country.
The Education Service Commission (SPP) special recruitment of grade DG41 Education Service Officers, on a one-off basis, started yesterday and will expire on July 21.
Goh thus called on university graduates who are qualified and keen, including those temporary teachers who are currently teaching in Chinese primary or secondary schools, to seize the rare opportunity.
He noted a recent survey by Chinese education group, Dong Jiao Zong had indicated that currently there are 700 vacancies (for Chinese teachers) in Chinese primary schools and more than 100 vacancies in Chinese secondary schools.
He thus hoped the one-off recruitment seeking to recruit 18,702 teachers who are university graduates majoring in education, could fill up all the vacancies.
He also hoped the various quarters could take into consideration the many uncertainties and challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, especially in regards to potential disruption to school sessions.
He said this is because the new recruits are required to start teaching in October, upon completing their training.
Goh, who is also President of the Federation of Chinese Associations Sabah (FCAS), also welcomed the SPP’s statement that it would expand its recruitment beyond the education major graduates, if the ongoing recruitment failed to meet its target.
However, he hopes the Commission could take necessary measures to better train and prepare these non-education major graduates for the job.
He went on to note that, under the said recruitment, those who wish to apply for the Chinese primary teacher category must at least possess a SPM certificate with Distinction in Chinese subject. For more details on the recruitment, aspiring candidates can always log into SPP’s official website at: https://www.spp.gov.my/hebahan.html or its official Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/121787041228662/posts/5617575361649775/）
He also hoped the applicants could pass the UKCG test smoothly.
He also hoped that the MOE could expedite the announcement of details for the Bachelor of Education teacher training programme for UEC graduates (PISMP-UEC), so that those who are qualified could apply.
He expressed this while welcoming the statement by Deputy Education Minister, Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon, that the Ministry will continue to conduct the said programme and will be announcing its details within this month.
Goh noted that the said programme was first introduced 10 years ago, but due to various reasons, the quota for its intake was subsequently reduced from 30 candidates to 20 candidates. And over the years, the intakes had further declined, and there was even one year without any candidate signing up. Last year, with great effort and close cooperation between Dr Mah and the Chinese community, it managed to recruit 11 trainees for the program. But, it was obviously still far from satisfactory.
Nonetheless, he hoped the Government could continue with the programme, while at the same time, to work closely with Chinese education groups like Dong Jiao Zong and the Independent Chinese Secondary Schools Development Working Committee, to better attract graduates from Chinese independent schools to sign up for the programme.
