KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 — The country's education still requires around 20,000 more teachers to meet its needs, the National Union of Teaching Profession's (NUTP) President Aminuddin Awang reportedly said.

Malay daily Utusan Malaysia quoted him saying the additional 9,500 new teachers announced by the Education Ministry over the weekend are not enough.

"We are grateful for what the ministry has done, but so far, 9,500 is still too little to cover the country's education needs.

"Sufficient allocation is very important so that the education ministry can recruit new teachers through SPP on a large scale,” he said, using the Malay initials for the Education Services Commission.

On Saturday, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said her ministry is expected to recruit 9,500 new teachers this November to address the current teacher shortage issue.

She also said an immediate placement will made as the interview process has been completed.