Published on: Thursday, May 25, 2006 |
They were assigned to teach in these schools in Selangor and Johor after completing their Malaysia Teaching Diploma Course (KPDM) at the Kent Teaching Institute in Tuaran which held its convocation, here, Wednesday.
Some claimed the new surroundings was different from what they have learned while under training.
It was also a whole new experience for them to teach in vernacular schools where a single race accounted for the majority of pupils.
One teacher, Japhenie Lee Fen Fen, 25, from Putatan said she was not prepared and was even shocked to be posted to a Tamil primary school in Johor.
"I was assigned to teach pupils in Sekolah Taman Tun Aminah and I was thinking there will be Malays, Chinese and Tamil teachers and pupils in the school.
"However, I was surprised when I entered its compound. It had never crossed my mind that I would be sent to a Tamil school as the new surrounding was totally a new experience for me," she said, recalling her experiences as the only Chinese teacher at the school.
Being a new experience, she said she was nervous about teaching Tamil pupils. Nonetheless, she managed to adapt to the new situation.
Japhenie, one of the best graduates who received the Director's Award, said this to reporters at the 54th annual convocation ceremony of the Kent Teaching Institute at Shangri-La's Tanjung Aru Resort here.
Deputy Director of the Teacher Training Division under the Education Ministry, Haji Saripan Rakob officiated at the ceremony, which also marked the first convocation of the college after it was upgraded to an institute.
Some 423 graduates received their scrolls, comprising 295 KPDM graduates, 83 graduates of Post-Graduate Teaching Diploma (KPLI) and 45 of the school-based KPLI.
According to Japhenie, she was assigned to teach Bahasa Malaysia, English language and Art Education (PS).
"My major is teaching pre-schools and Bahasa Malaysia is my option. However, the school assigned me to teach English Language.
"I was worried as I did not know how to teach the pupils. Fortunately the teachers in the school were friendly and very helpful. They gave all the help I needed to teach the subject," she said.
Japhenie said initially she had communication problems but after five months she has learnt to cope with her new environment.
Another graduate who had somewhat experiences, is David Wong Vee Ming, 27, who majored in Science and Visual Art Education.
He was also assigned to teach a subject he had never learned how to teach in a Chinese school.
"I was assigned to SJK(C) Kong Hoe in Klang, Selangor on Jan. 5 this year. And to my dismay, I was asked to teach Bahasa Malaysia to Years 4, 5 and 6 because there were no teaching vacancies for the Science and Visual Art Education subjects in the school.
"I was shocked and at the same time worried about how was I going to teach Bahasa Malaysia (BM) to the Chinese students. Also, the Chinese students in the school are weak in BM," he said.
Fortunately, David said the senior teachers in the school were helpful and provided him with much-needed guidance.
"It was totally challenging had no choice but to struggle and learn the teaching methods based on the guidance and assistance given by the friendly teachers.
"At first, it was tough but after a while, I got used to the challenge although I faced some communication problems with the students," he said.
David who obtained C3 for his BM in Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) told reporters sometimes his students would not understand his Sabahan accent to an extent that some of them thought he was Indonesian.
According to David some of his other friends in the same batch had met with Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Tan Sri Bernard Dompok at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur.
"What I heard was some of the 777 teachers attended the gathering this year and related their unhappiness and problems they faced in the schools they were posted to.
"Among them are financial constraints because of the three-month wait for the salaries, communication problems with the school and poor treatment. I also heard about Sabahan teachers being posted to primary schools in the peninsula that had sufficient or even excess teachers," he said.
David's college mate, Andi Olot, 27, was among those posted to a primary school that had more than enough teachers.
Andi was posted to newly-built SK Bandar Baru , Selayang 2 where he was assigned to teach subjects that were part of his majors namely Science, Visual Art Education and Living Skills.
"It did take some time for me to adapt to the new surrounding at the school.
"In the early stages, there was a little miscommunication because the school has excess teaching staff but after a while, I guess I was lucky as I was absorbed to teach at last," he said.
Andi revealed that most primary schools in the area had sufficient teachers and that it was rather ironic that he was posted to one of these schools.
"I learnt that the main problem faced by most of the Sabahan teachers posted to the peninsula was their placement in schools which already had a surplus of teachers.
"I also heard about few teachers who were posted twice because the first school they went to was already full and, hence, they were posted again to another school that needed their service.
"Their posting to the first school made them like transit teachers which made them unhappy," he said.
Earlier, Saripan in his opening address said excellence in the teaching profession is not only reflected by examination results but the impact of teaching on the students in achieving the nation's aspirations.
He urged the graduate teachers to be dedicated civil servants in teaching the young generation.
