.jpg "Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau speaks to reporters while campaigning in Kampung Lokub, Kota Kinabalu September 18, 2020. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Emmanuel Santa Maria Chin")
KOTA KINABALU, April 28 — A local think tank here has warned the Ministry of Education (MOE) that they will be facing a more severe problem of unemployed fresh graduates especially those aiming to be teachers.
Wisdom Foundation executive chairman Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau said that the ministry needs to take immediate steps to reform its teacher’s recruitment and placement systems with the objective of securing jobs for graduates in education to close the gaps in demands for the relevant teachers.
According to the 2020 Ministry of Higher Education’s (MOHE) Graduate Tracer Study report, 116,161 fresh graduates in Malaysia will suffer the turmoil of unemployment, even a year after graduating.
“Of these 116,161 unemployed fresh graduates, 3.78 per cent or 4,390 are Bachelor of Education graduates. The MOE has clearly failed in their duty to ensure there’s no mismatch in the supply and demand of teachers” he said during a press conference here.
“Bachelor of Education graduates face difficulty in employment by non-education employers from fear of graduates resigning given the chance to become an Education Service Officer (Pegawai Perkhidmatan Pendidikan, PPP) grade DG41.
“To make the situation even worse, non-Bachelor of Education graduates are recruited as interim teachers under the Teach for Malaysia (TFM) Fellowship programme, “ said Tangau.
Tangau, who is also Tuaran MP suggested that primary school teaching jobs be open to Bachelor of Education graduates and not just limited to graduates from the Malaysian Institute of Teacher Education.
He also said that adjustments should be made to the to the Short-Term Employment Programme (MYStep) to permit the intake of Bachelor of Education graduates as replacement or contracted teachers while waiting for interview calls from the Education Service Commission.
“Minor educational options should not be excluded in the consideration of PPP DG41 recruitment for example, graduates with minors in Kadazandusun, Mandarin, Tamil and Iban languages are in needed in schools which are offering these subjects.
“The Bachelor of Education degree should be made as a mandatory requirement to be a teacher to ensure that teachers are passionate and committed in the teaching profession,” he said.
“We strongly urge the MOE to take immediate action to prevent further degeneration in quality education and the futures of hopeful teachers for years to come,” he said.
