DPM: 30,000 teachers needed to teach third language

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 30,000 teachers are needed should the teaching of a third language, including foreign languages, be extended to schools nationwide, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, said his ministry already has a policy on the teaching of third languages such as Arabic, Chinese, Tamil, French and Spanish in specific schools, but the number of students involved is small.
"This is a government effort to allow more Malay children to understand what their peers are saying in Chinese and Tamil.
"If we want to teach this in all schools, I need to appoint a total of 30,000 teachers because there are 10,000 schools throughout the country and if each school has three language teachers, a total of 30,000 teachers are needed. This is a large number.
"However, with the support of all delegates, these new posts can be created and facilitate the implementation of the policy," he said in his winding up speech at the Umno General Assembly 2014, Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC), which ends today.
Commenting on reports that many students were unable to speak in Bahasa Melayu, Muhyiddin, who is also Umno deputy president, said he has directed for an immediate comprehensive study on the curriculum and teachers to overcome the problem.
"This study covers the learning schedule, curriculum and examination so that we can improve the quality of Bahasa Melayu in national schools," he said.
Muhyiddin said this when commenting on a statement by UKM Institute of the Malay World and Civilisation lecturer Prof Dr Teo Kok Seong, who quoted a study in 2010 which revealed that 604 Chinese and Indian participants of the National Service (NS) training programme were unable to converse in Bahasa Melayu.
In his 30-minute speech, Muhyiddin also announced the formation of the National Parent-Teacher Association Fund Foundation, which will be jointly chaired by Second Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh in efforts to help the assocation's activities in schools throughout the country.
He said for a start, the government has allocated RM200 million to the foundation and will also work to obtain additional funds from government linked companies as well as the private sector.
Muhyiddin said the fund will be distributed to all schools, especially in rural and interior areas. According to Muhyiddin, education was the most debated issue at the general assembly, whereby it involved 121 motions, or 20%, of the total of 638 motions.
"I followed the debate this time where it specifically touched on national schools, the quality of teachers and also school infrastructure. This proves that education is always a priority...my thanks to the delegates," he said.
Muhyiddin also expressed his appreciation to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak for always making education a main agenda through large allocations in the yearly budget.
"This was proven in Budget 2015 which was approved in Parliament two days ago involving RM56.6 billion, or 20.11%, of the total budget of RM273.9 billion," he said.
As such, he hoped more allocation could be given to the Education Ministry in the coming budget, especially with the implementation of the Goods and Sales Tax (GST) starting April 1, 2015, to empower the national education system.
In another development, Muhyiddin said 80% of the 10 million employees in the public and private sectors only have Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) qualification, which is the reason for their low income.
Therefore, the government is committed to continue developing technical and vocation education as an effort to increase students' skills so they can enter the job market and not only obtain a good income, but also ensure their future.
"This is why the ministry was given RM1.2 billion in Budget 2015 to allow us to provide infrastructure, schools and vocational colleges next year.
"From this amount, RM100 million will be used to buy places in private schools to cater to 10,000 students, where priority will be given to Malay and Bumiputera children," he said. – Bernama