KUALA LUMPUR: The National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) has welcomed the move by the Education Ministry to hire more than 18,000 teachers to overcome the shortage of educators in certain subjects.
NUTP said its support, however, was on the condition that this exercise would be permanently carried out by the ministry to address issues involving shortages of teachers.
NUTP secretary-general Harry Tan Huat Hock said it was imperative that the ministry ensure it had the right people employed as teachers for the sake of better education.
"These would-be teachers must have the aptitude, passion and right voice. It is not enough to recruit them just on qualifications," he told the New Straits Times.
Tan was asked to comment on the announcement by Senior Education Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Radzi Jidin that 18,702 new teachers would be hired via a one-off scheme to overcome the shortage of educators in certain subjects.
He said the new intake, which will open next month, would involve the appointment of Grade DG41 teachers.
Tan added that the NUTP had received complaints from past graduates with teacher training who had yet to be called for interviews.
"We hope that the authorities will cast the net far and wide to get the best and most dedicated teachers for the job."
The Sarawak Teachers' Union (STU) called for the shortage of 3,000 teachers in the state to be filled following the announcement. STU president Adam Prakash Abdullah yesterday said the union had proposed that priority be given to Sarawak graduates to serve in the state.
"STU hopes that each school in Sarawak will finally have a sufficient number of teachers with the recruitment drive.
"We encourage Sarawak graduates who have yet to secure a permanent job and are interested in becoming teachers to take up this opportunity."
Adam said the Education Ministry should examine the list of graduates who had been trained in tertiary institutions, such as Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris and public higher learning institutions, as they had the expertise and training.
"STU hopes that the Education Ministry and Education Service Commission will provide clear application guidelines to candidates to ensure that no one will be rejected from the selection process."
