KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 — Only high-scoring SPM graduates are accepted into teacher training colleges, Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said today amid allegations of subpar quality among Malaysian educators.

The second education minister said that while previously “anyone” could become a teacher, a recent bid to improve the quality of education via the Malaysian National Education Blueprint (PPPM) 2013-2025 meant only the top 60 per cent of SPM graduates are selected for recruitment.

“Last time anybody who want to be a teacher can become a teacher. You just go register, done.

“Now of your results are not in the top 60 per cent of SPM, don’t even think about becoming a teacher,” Idris said during a briefing organised by national news agency Bernama on improving the country’s education system.

He added that the ministry will not accept anything less than 5As on an SPM transcript from those who apply to become teachers, in a move to improve the quality of teachers at all public schools.

Idris also said that teachers’ salary schemes have also been reviewed, allowing for yearly raises and jump into a higher salary scale every six years.

This comes amid assertion by several parents groups that weak educators were why Malaysia placed among poor third-world nations in an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) study on education.

Parents Action Group for Education (PAGE) chairman Datin Noor Azimah Rahim said on May 15 that weaknesses in how teachers were recruited and trained were compounding systemic flaws in Malaysian education.

Concerned Parents of Selangor (CPS) and Malacca Action Group for Parents in Education (MAGPIE) attributed Malaysia’s low rankings to poor teacher training and demotivated educators.

Last month, an OECD’s study shown that Malaysia ranked 52nd out of 76 countries, several rungs behind Thailand (47), Kazakhstan (49) and Iran (51), based on students’ test scores in Mathematics and Science.

Singapore was ranked first, followed by Hong Kong and South Korea while Japan and Taiwan were joint-fourth, in an Asian dominance of the top five spots in the study.

The study also estimated Malaysia’s growth potential at 505 per cent of its current GDP if it improved its education, indicating a direct correlation between education and economic growth and stating that country’s standard of education is a “powerful predictor of wealth”.