KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 ― Malaysian teachers only spend on average 71 per cent of their working time on actual teaching and learning, while the rest of their time is occupied by administrative tasks and keeping order in the classroom.

In comparison, the average teaching and learning time of the 33 countries surveyed in the global poll Teaching and Learning International Survey (Talis) 2013 was 78.7 per cent.

On average, Malaysian teachers spend 17 hours each week teaching, compared to the survey average of 19 hours.

In comparison, they spend six hours per week planning and preparing lessons, and seven hours per week marking and correcting work.

In Norway, teachers spend the least time for teaching at 15 hours, while in Chile teachers spend the most time at 26.7 hours per week.

A larger proportion of Malaysian teachers are also satisfied with their job compared to other Talis countries, at 97 per cent.

More Malaysian teachers also believe that they are able to help their students value learning (98 per cent), and more teachers believe that they can help their students to think critically (91.9 per cent).

However, only 83.8 per cent of them believe that the teaching profession is valued in society.

Across the world, on average 91.1 per cent of teachers are satisfied with their job.

According to the survey, a typical teacher in lower secondary education in Malaysia is a 39-year-old woman, who reports having 14 years of teaching experience and who completed a teacher education or training programme.

A teacher handing out textbooks to her students during their first day of school at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) St Gabriel, Kampung Pandan, in this January 2, 2014 file picture. According to a recent poll, on average, Malaysian teachers spend 17 hours each week teaching. — Picture by Saw Siow Feng
A teacher handing out textbooks to her students during their first day of school at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) St Gabriel, Kampung Pandan, in this January 2, 2014 file picture. According to a recent poll, on average, Malaysian teachers spend 17 hours each week teaching. — Picture by Saw Siow Feng

Malaysian teachers are among the youngest among the countries surveyed, just behind Singapore (36), and Abu Dhabi (39).

Talis is run by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which also runs the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

The survey collects data on the learning environment and the working conditions of teachers in schools across the world, with the last poll done in 2008.

A total of 20 teachers and principals each from 200 schools took the survey for every country polled.