‘Lower teaching entry bar’
(NST) – The government must lower the teaching entry requirement for students who excel in sports and those from the Orang Asli community, said the National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP) president.
Hashim Adnan said the government’s decision to set the basic requirement of a minimum of 7As for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia students from the peninsular who wanted to be teachers and 5As for those from Sabah and Sarawak would boost the profession.
“However, it should also consider lowering the benchmark for students who have been active in sports and those from the Orang Asli community.
“We cannot expect students active in sports to be able to produce results like inactive students as they would need to go for training and may miss lessons or have less time to study.
“Instead of ignoring them, the ministry must make allowances for those who have represented the state or the nation in sports,” he said.
He said the ministry should also consider lowering the benchmark to 3As in SPM for Orang Asli students. “We should give more leeway to Orang Asli children who live in remote areas and want to become teachers.
“If we lower the basic requirement, more of them will be able to become teachers and they can then go back to their villages to teach the children.”
Hashim was reacting to Second Education and Higher Education II Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh’s statement when wrapping up the royal address in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday that SPM students from the peninsular interested to enter the teaching profession needed to score at least score 7As, while the minimum requirement for students in Sabah and Sarawak was 5As. The move was implemented this year.
“People think highly of the teaching profession and, of course, we need to ensure that we have quality teachers. In the peninsula, if you don’t have 7As, then don’t ask to be a teacher because that is the minimum requirement now.
“But for Sabah and Sarawak, we are more lenient.”
Previously, post-SPM candidates wanting to take up teaching needed to score only a distinction in any three subjects and credits for Bahasa Malaysia, English and History.
He said the ministry was reviewing the School-Based Assessment system (PBS) to lessen the burden of teachers.
“We are also looking into increasing the number of teacher aides.
“This has been implemented in several states, such as Kedah and Sabah.”
Idris said 500 schools were involved in the pioneer project.
PBS was introduced in 2011 in all government and government-aided primary schools, and implemented in all government and government-aided secondary schools last year.
The programme assesses students based on different evidence markers, like their ability to read or count, grading them into bands, starting from Band One to Band Six.
