THE Education Ministry (MOE) has announced 10 initiatives aimed at fostering an environment of cheerful students, happy teachers, unrivalled schools and a thriving nation.

Minister Fadhlina Sidek said the initiatives also aim to improve the welfare and reduce the workload of teachers, lower the cost of living, boost the national economy and enhance the wellbeing of the people, in line with the theme of this year’s National Teachers’ Day celebration, “Guru Insani Pemangkin Generasi Madani”.

She said one of the initiatives was to provide opportunities for teachers to rest their minds through an affordable holiday programme in collaboration with MOE’s strategic partners.

“This programme offers discounts for flight tickets, accommodation, land transport and theme parks in collaboration with the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry, Transport Ministry, AirAsia, Traveloka and Bank Rakyat.

“In addition to appreciating the contribution of teachers through attractive holiday packages, this initiative can also promote tourism destinations and stimulate the national economy,” she said at the launching ceremony of the 2023 National Teachers’ Day celebration at the Melaka International Trade Centre in Ayer Keroh today.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim officiated at the celebration.

Fadhlina said the MOE, together with the Education Service Commission (SPP), will continue to strengthen the management of the recruitment of education service officers to address the issue of teacher shortages in critical subjects.

“Several methods and strategic approaches will be implemented, including the expansion of subject clusters to enable more potential candidates to be appointed as teachers,” she said.

In addition, she said the recruitment of teachers for critical subjects would also be expanded to include graduates with high potential from private higher education institutions and foreign universities.

Fadhlina said the ministry also aimed to provide flexibility to all lecturers of educational institutions under the ministry in the wearing of official MOE corporate attire while on duty.

She said the MOE has also decided that, beginning this year, the annual Teachers’ Day will only be celebrated at the national and school levels and that any collection of donations from teachers for that purpose will be halted.

Fadhlina said another initiative was to expand the Comprehensive Special Model School Year 9 programme with the addition of 10 more schools in an effort to address the issue of dropouts among students, especially in rural areas and Orang Asli settlements.

“There are currently 12 such schools operating nationwide, and the MOE has decided to expand the programme to SK Pulau Beluru in Tumpat, Kelantan, starting next month by involving mainstream students and students with special needs,” she said.

She said other initiatives were the improvement of Circular No. 5/2002: Visits on School Days, the expansion of Sekolah Bimbingan Jalinan Kasih to Sabah, enhancing the role of “Kumpulan Guru Insani Malaysia” and Yayasan Guru Tun Hussein Onn and improving the Malaysian Teacher Standard 2.0. – Bernama, May 16, 2023.