Teacher trainers unhappy with changes and new regulations
Published on: Monday, November 30, 2015
Kuala Lumpur: Lecturers from the Institute of Teachers Education are unhappy with new regulations on their annual leave system and masters qualification requirement placed by its top management. Represented by the National Union of Teachers Profession (NUTP) President Hashim Adnan and Datuk Lok Yin Peng, they said the lecturers will no longer be getting the school term breaks simultaneously with schools but instead be forced to take annual leaves. Hashim requested that the institute's rector retract the instruction for the change in the lecturer's holiday system as the majority of them did not agree to it.
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NUTP, he said, had done a survey on 16 out of the 27 campuses across the country and found that 92 per cent of the lecturers were against the change. There are about 3,000 lecturers in such institutes nationwide with 80 per cent of them being NUTP members.He said it wouldn't be an issue if no one objected to it. However, it was clear that it was not favoured among those affected. Lok said the excuse given by management was illogical.
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"They said the institute was undergoing transformation, thus the lecturers were no longer considered teachers but were at a higher level." "However, their salary grades are just the same.
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They also need to go to school and monitor the teachers in training. "The students and teachers in training gets a break, thus the lecturers too need a break and it is very important they get it as their job is different. "They need to be emotionally stable to work...," she told reporters during a press conference at the NUTP headquarters. Lok said the lecturer's job is simultaneously planned according to the school calendar. This may affect the lecturer's option in taking annual leave as it would affect their class schedule and force them to make replacement classes. She also said the institute should not compare these lecturers to the professors in universities as the latter gets sabbatical leave and flexible hours. She said the institute's lecturers are not offered any such leaves but only directed to change the holiday breaks so they can do more office work. She said the institute was now being managed with an iron fist as the top management did not bother to discuss or consider the opinions of those affected by it. Meanwhile, Hashim said another issue faced by the lecturers was that those without a masters degree would be sent back to schools to be teachers. He said this has instilled fear and worry among the lecturers. About 800 of the lecturers nationwide do not hold a masters degree. This ruling, he said, will also come into affect in January. Hashim said the institute had earlier announced 200 people would be first to be affected by the ruling."Many of them without a masters degree are nearing retirement. They are experienced in training teachers, why would you send them back to be teachers again? "Please consider their dignity. Let them retire peacefully as a lecturer. Then, when the new batches come in, make sure you only accept those with masters. "For the lecturers who still have six or more years in the service, send them to do their masters. Why waste all their knowledge and experience just like that? It is as though they do not appreciate their staff," he said. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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