TEACHERS can be instructed to attend work during school term holidays, but not exceeding half the number of vacation days in a school year, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Deputy Education Minister Lim Hui Ying said the matter was based on the Education Ministry’s (MOE) letter number 11 of 2017, which also states that the order to attend duty covered the task of supervising examinations, taking courses and preparation of meetings at the beginning of the school year.

“Although this is not a routine task that needs to be done every day, it is also part of a teacher’s job,” she said when replying to a supplementary question from Vivian Wong Shir Yee (Sandakan-PH) at the Dewan Rakyat today, who asked if teachers could be called back for duty during school holidays.

The MOE letter number 11 of 2017 stipulates that principals or headmasters can order teachers to be on duty during school holidays for a time not exceeding half of the school term holidays in a school year, for tasks such as supervising examinations, taking courses and preparatory meetings at the beginning of the school year.

Meanwhile, Lim said so far no special allowance will be given to teachers who carry out tasks outside the classroom, including teachers who attend school management meetings on weekends.

However, she said if teachers have been instructed to work outside the school, they are eligible to be given travel claims.

“This is the arrangement at the moment, but we will take note of the issues raised and we will look into it,” she said in response to another question from Nurul Amin Hamid (Padang Terap-PN) who asked if the government would introduce special incentives or allowances for DG41 grade teachers who carry out assignments away from the classroom. – Bernama, February 28, 2023.