IT is the producers of DidikTV and not the teacher who need to be taken to task for glitches in the educational television network, education groups said.

They told The Malaysian Insight the people who planned and produced the TV programme should be checked instead of the science teacher, who was soundly criticised for her style and pronounciation.  

The National Union of the Teaching Profession Malaysia (NUTP) secretary-general Harry Tan said the teacher was not at fault as she was not teaching English.

“Check what she was teaching, we must be fair. If she was teaching English, then go ahead with your criticism,” he said.

“Check the contents of her subject matter; if she was wrong as a science teacher, then be my guest. But please be fair, we are only human. We are teachers, not actors.”

Tan was commenting on a Standard Two science programme which was aired earlier this week. The 90-second clip drew criticism for the teacher’s speaking style and mispronounciation while explaining the human reproductive system

DidikTV was launched by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin as a special terrestrial education TV channel under the Education Ministry.  

The channel is to enable access to quality education nationwide.

Tan said if someone must be blamed for the programme, blame the producers.

“They should get professionals if they want to produce better quality programmes.”

He said the teacher’s job was to teach the subject, which in this case was science. She wasn’t there to teach English, he said,

“She also has a different way of teaching because the students are in Standard Two. It is about getting the message across to them.” 

Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia chairman Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said the people who produced the programme need to be taken to task.

She said the problem also lies in a tendency to pass the buck so that those who have done wrong get away with it.

“In the end, the losers are our children. The collateral damage is teachers who may be giving their best but do not realise that they can be better and that they can, with guidance and effective training, reach their best potential.”

She said while the fault lies with the producers and scriptwriters, the ministry also needs to look at the video making process.  

“Is there a central planning and oversight committee in the Education Ministry that coordinates the policy, planning and execution of these lessons?

“Don’t these lessons go through some form of professional vetting before they are aired on TV?”

She also questioned the Education Ministry on who was responsible for quality control of the lessons.

“What part did they (Education Ministry) play in producing the video that was commissioned? Was there a scriptwriter? How were the teachers selected? Was there an audition?

“The Education Ministry ought to answerable for poor quality control.”

As for the teacher, Noor Azimah said, she should not be blamed for the perceived low-quality presentation.  

“No, because like any video production, it would have gone through the process.” 

She said teachers should be rewarded for professionalism.

“Volunteer teachers will not cut it. You can’t cut costs where it matters most. We shouldn’t sacrifice quality for speed.”

Noor Azimah added the strong public response to the particular “Science in English” lesson is not surprising as Malaysians are keenly interested in what the government is doing to provide quality education to their children “especially during challenging times like now.”

She said DidikTV was still beneficial for those without access to learning while schools are closed.  

“That’s why it’s important to get good quality for the children who need it the most, underprivileged children who do not have any other choice.”

Former deputy education minister Teo Nie Ching also came to the teacher’s defence when she said DidikTV teachers were just doing their job and should not be blamed for messing up.

Malaysian Academic Movement chairman Zaharom Nain said the problem lay in the production of the programme.

He said the casting director should be replaced for not keeping up standards. – February 20, 2021.