SHORT work hours, lots of holidays and a high chance of marrying well – these are some of the reasons given by trainee teachers when asked why they want to pursue the profession, said a retired educator.

Francis De Luke, who had taught for 35 years, said such answers illustrate the lack of passion among teachers in national schools today.

The plunge in teaching quality is a key reason for the rot in national schools and why students are not getting an education that prepares them for adult life, he told the Crisis in Education forum, organised by La Salle Ipoh and the Lasallian Youth Network, in Petaling Jaya last night.

Another retired teacher, who wanted to be known only as Chakravaty, said his niece’s additional mathematics teacher “taught” complicated calculus concepts simply by reading from a textbook.

The teacher, he said, made no attempt to explain the concepts by writing out formulas and doing exercises on the chalkboard.

“A physics teacher at the same school forgot to bring his notes. And because he forgot his notes, there were no lessons for the day, and he let the class go free,” said Chakravaty, who now tutors in physics and additional mathematics.

The two retirees said these experiences are just the tip of the iceberg showing mediocrity and negligence in the profession.

“There is a lack of passion for teaching. People should not become teachers just because they find it easy to marry a rich spouse,” said De Luke, a former English and disciplinary teacher who sat on a panel that included Professor Tajuddin Rasdi of UCSI University and former National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general Loke Yim Pheng.

How teachers are assigned their subjects and classes is also problematic, reflecting the inability of school administrators and district education officials to manage things properly.

“If you are an Indian or Chinese teacher, they immediately force you to teach English, even if English is not the subject you specialise in,” said De Luke.

“For some reason, teachers who specialise in English keep their mouths shut and don’t speak up to announce their speciality.

“This is not a problem only in rural schools. Even in urban areas, English teachers are being transferred to top schools, while schools in poorer neighbourhoods don’t get enough quality teachers.”

Chakravaty said the problem started in the mid-1980s, when the government relaxed enrolment for trainee teachers and accepted applicants without proper screening.

NUTP’s Loke said there is a shortage of retraining for teachers.

“During my time, we found teachers who had gone 10 to 15 years without refresher training to improve their methods.”

A lack of investment has also resulted in educators having to foot their own travel bill to attend training programmes, adding to their burden. – March 4, 2020.