The programme is carried out under the Education Ministry’s Education Division Teacher Quality National Key Result Area (NKRA).

Programme coordinator Dr Zaida Mustafa said through the programme teachers categorised as excellent would be given special training and sent to the schools concerned to implement the module. She said the programme would be carried out by the ministry with the cooperation of the State Education Department to help schools with poor performance in the Ujian Peperiksaan Sekolah Rendah (UPSR), Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) and Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations.

“We at the ministry will not allow this to continue, so we must take action to help these schools by using the expertise we have in the excellent teachers,” she told Bernama here yesterday.

From Wednesday until yesterday, 31 excellent teachers were given exposure to the programme’s module at SMK Sandakan, with the district being the last stop following Keningau, Kota Kinabalu and Tawau earlier this month.

Zaida said in the initial stage of implementation, the programme would only be held in two states including Perak, involving 48 schools. She said the programme had several phases, of which the first had been carried out by training the main coaches and was entering the second phase, with the main coaches training the excellent teachers.

Read more @ http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=59930

GONE are the days where Muhammad Aiman Hakimi Yusyairi had to put on a mask to keep away the unbearable stench of urine and faeces, which was enough to make him throw up whenever he entered the school toilet.

Such impressions have been totally flushed out of his mind and he will leave his primary school later this year with memories of a clean and dry toilet that have, in fact, become the talk of his peers in neighbouring schools.

“I no longer have to hold my breath when I enter the toilet nor do I control it (my bladder) until I reach home, because the school toilets are so much cleaner now,” he says.

How can we solve the issue of smelly school toilets? A facemask may mask the problem temporarily, but a long-term solution needs greater effort.

The authorities at the school he attends, SK Bandar Baru Sentul, decided that they had had enough of filthy toilets and embarked on a clean toilet programme to educate its pupils on basic hygiene and toilet etiquette two years ago.

“It was a crash course and teachers-in-charge went to every class and instilled in every pupil the need to be clean and hygienic,” says the school headmaster Abd Aziz Yahya.

“We also had to inculcate in them the need to respect school property, as pupils are indifferent and adapt a tidak apa (don’t care) attitude – especially of other people’s belongings.”

Wasting toilet paper drives up toilet maintenance costs.

Anticipating that students might complain about not having a place for them to put their shoes back on, the school has secured some sponsorships to build a platform where students could sit.

A common problem in school is students using the toilet when it is out of order, often worsening its condition.

The school is perhaps one of a few schools that has take the initiative to organise a clean toilet campaign of such scale.

Cleaner toilets aside, says deputy headmistress Anna Mary Sebastian, cases of clogged toilet bowls are reduced to zero, making maintenance cheaper and easier.

by Tan Ee Loo.

Read more @ http://thestar.com.my/education/story.asp?file=/2010/8/15/education/6769186&sec=education

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin at the launch of Najib Tun Razak Melakar Transformasi Malaysia at the Handicraft Complex in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. — NST picture by Ghazali Bujang

KUALA LUMPUR: University students should not be actively involved in politics as they are bound by the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) 1971, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

He said although the UUCA was amended in February last year making it more accommodative in terms of freedom of expressions, undergraduates were still not allowed to be actively involved in political parties.

“We do not prohibit students from voicing their opinions on political issues. Students now even have speaker corners.
“We don’t allow students to be actively involved in political parties as this could have a negative effect on their studies,” he said here yesterday after launching a book published by the Information, Communication and Culture Ministry on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s first year in office.

He added that school teachers were allowed to be actively involved in politics as they could contribute their leadership qualities to society.

Undergraduates were not in the same category as teachers, said Muhyiddin, who is also education minister. He also stressed that politics was strictly off-limits at schools.
On Sunday, Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said the ministry was ready to consider allowing undergraduates in public universities to be involved in politics. He, however, said this must first go through processes and series of discussions.

by IIi Liyana Mokhtar.

Read more @ http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/6yana/Article

The main reason driving these teachers out of their schools was the lack of basic facilities, Deputy Education Minister Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi said here yesterday.

Most of the schools have no clean water or electricity.
Dr Puad said the majority of those seeking transfers were from Kelantan.

Those with family problems or who were sick would have their transfer requests accepted, he told reporters after a meeting with teachers at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Song in the small riverine town of Song on the Rajang river.

Song is about half an hour by express boat from Sibu.
Dr Puad said to overcome the issue of transfers, the ministry had increased the number of trainee teachers’ intake from Sabah and Sarawak while cutting down the number from the peninsula.

Read more @ http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/15edc-2/Article

UN Resident Coordinator for Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore, Kamal Malhotra said the programme, which aims to educate participants about civics, current events, effective communication, globalisation and multilateral diplomacy, could benefit the Malaysian school curriculum.

“We in the UN sees that the human right approach is central to everything we do; so if it is to be adopted in the Malaysian school system, it has to be done as part of curriculum reform,” he told Bernama in a recent interview. For Malaysia, however, there would be challenge because it also had a vernacular school system, he said.

“This works best in a multicultural context where everyone is in one school,” he said, adding that for a start, Malaysia could target the national school system which has student from all ethnic groups.

Kamal said with Malaysia hosting the Second Global Model UN Conference 2010 (GMUN) starting Aug 14, it could promote the Model UN among the young Malaysians.

“In many countries, there is a tradition of holding Model UN conferences at the school level, but this is not the case in Malaysia. Perhaps the students are not too exposed to the UN, even at university level. “So maybe it is new for Malaysia but I think it is good for both Malaysia and Malaysian students to be exposed to the Model UN because issues on intercultural dialogue are very relevant in the Malaysian context given its multi-ethnicity,” he said.

About 1,000 brightest students from 90 UN members are expected to take part in the GMUN 2010 organised by the UN Department of Public Information, UN Alliance of Civilizations and Commonwealth secretariat and Malaysia’s Youth and Sports Ministry.

Read more @ http://www.newsabahtimes.com.my/nstweb/fullstory/41109

I wish to relate a similar incident that happened to my daughter when she was in Year Two. In one section of her Maths exam paper, various groups of objects were given and students were asked to express these groups in mathematical form e.g. in two groups of five objects each, the only correct mathematical expression would be 2 x 5 = 10 instead of 5 x 2 = 10. There were five such questions in that section which carried a total of 20 marks.

My daughter had all the multiplication correct but not the order of the expression. No marks were awarded to her in that section even when she had the correct multiplication.

When I asked the teacher why, her answer was that she had to go according to the marking scheme.

What effect do you think this will have on a child eight years of age? Firstly, it is demoralising because she hasn’t been rewarded for at least some form of correct effort on her part. Secondly, it reinforced in a child that rote-learning is important and any form of deviation is unacceptable. Thirdly, the loss of 20 marks would make a difference between an A and C grade in a paper. So for those busy unsuspecting parents, that would mean their children are weak in Maths and therefore, the most obvious thing to do would be to pack them off to tuition classes to learn the “correct” way of doing things.

by Concerned Mum.

Read more @ http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/21/focus/6700084&sec=focus

Its president, William Ghani Bina, said this would ensure that only those who were genuinely interested in the profession join teacher training courses and posted to rural areas.

He said as most KPLI trainees choose the teaching profession as the last resort after failing to get other jobs, this would be detrimental to the quality of education in the long run.
“STU proposes to the ministry to enrol more SPM holders from Sabah and Sarawak for teacher training courses as many of them are keen to be teachers,” he told Bernama here today.

Ghani claimed that SPM leavers, who were trained as teachers, were more dedicated and committed to their profession.

BERNAMA.

Read more @ http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/EnrolmoreSPMholdersfortreachertraining_/Article/

Whatever you do in the toilet is meant to be private, so please don’t be a peeping Tom!

However, it is poor etiquette when you do not flush or leave the sides of the toilet bowl wet with urine after use.

In that case, you are at fault and should make amends by cleaning up.

More importantly, personal hygiene is everyone’s responsibility.

Just because the school does not provide you with facilities like paper towels or soap, does not mean you have an excuse not to practise personal hygiene.

Throwing rubbish into the toilet bowl is poor etiquette and shows little consideration for others.

Don’ts

·Don’t throw your food wrappers, sanitary napkins or anything that you don’t want into the toilet bowl. A clogged toilet bowl would require the services of a plumber.

l Do not shake the water off when drying your hands, especially if there are other people around. It is rude to do so.

·Don’t squat on the toilet seat. You are supposed to sit on it.

·Vandalising the toilet facilities by scribbling your favourtie or not-so-favourite teacher’s name on the walls or mirrors is not going to do you any good.

Do’s

·Always flush, and make sure all your ‘deposits’ are flushed away.

·Don’t forget to wash your hands with soap after every visit to the toilet.

If there is no soap, use a hand sanitiser.

·Dry your hands after every wash.

·Dispose your sanitary napkins in the bins provided.

Read more @ http://thestar.com.my/education/story.asp?file=/2010/7/18/education/6675976&sec=education

THE stench was unbearable and he was about to throw up, but there was no choice, Wai Sen* plugged his nose and quickly made his way through the slippery floor to answer nature’s call.

The sharp stench of urine and faeces was enough to force the primary school boy to hurry things up.

“I always try to get my ‘business’ done as fast as I can because it is just too stinky in the toilet,” says the 10-year-old boy.

For eight-year-old Gloria*, any thought of lingering in the school toilet longer than necessary is revolting.

“There are only two basins in the washroom and one is clogged because somebody vomitted in it recently, so we cannot even wash our hands,” she laments.

As if that isn’t bad enough, Gloria even found an empty fast food container in the toilet bowl. One just has to bring up the subject of dirty school toilets and chances are adults and children alike would have lots to say about them.

Graffiti on the walls and mirrors is a common sight in school toilets.

School toilets are where students can relieve themselves without having to wade through pockets of water or taking in the smells of urine, faeces and even vomit.

The cleanliness of toilets, in fact, is also a reflection of the school community, which many people overlook.

Some cubicles have no doors while others have faulty ones. The sinks and counter tops could do with a good scrub.

The current education system is so focused on our students achieving A’s, that it tends to overlook other basic issues that are just as important like personal hygiene and toilet etiquette.

by Tan Ee Loo.

Read more @ http://thestar.com.my/education/story.asp?file=/2010/7/18/education/6673649&sec=education

NUTP president Hashim Adnan said with the presence of more quality teachers in primary schools, on-going efforts to produce quality human capital for the country could be achieved.

“This is a very good move indeed, and we hope that the government will be doing the same thing for secondary schools.”
He said the move would also help to enhance the performance of students in critical subjects such as Mathematics and Science.

“When you have teachers of quality around, the students will experience a world-class education system.”

More teachers’ training programmes, however, needed to be held for aspiring teachers, he said.
“The programmes will benefit not only students but also add knowledge to the teachers in bringing the teaching profession to greater heights.”

On the move for candidates with Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) and Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) to be considered for enrolment into the Chinese language programme in Institutes of Teacher Education (IPG) to meet the demand for quality Mandarin language teachers in schools, he said this was in line with the 1Malaysia concept, envisioned by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

“We fully support this move and with UEC graduates around, we will be able to get more qualified Chinese educated teachers to teach Mandarin in schools.”
Najib, when tabling the 10th Malaysia Plan, also said the same consideration will be given to those with Sijil Menengah Agama and Sijil Tinggi Agama.

by Koi Kye Lee, Suganthi Suparmaniam and Ling Poh Lean.

Read more @ http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/7nutp/Article/