NUTP: Regard rural posting as NS
KUALA LUMPUR : Teachers should consider rural stints as national service, said National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general Lok Yim Pheng.
With this mindset, their posting in rural areas would be more fruitful and they would be able to carry out their duties with enthusiasm, she told Bernama yesterday.
NUTP, however, hoped that the Government would allow these teachers to be transferred once they have served two or three years in rural schools.
“What happens now is that once these teachers go to rural schools, they are forgotten and left there for years.
“We want the Education Ministry to put in place a proper and fair rotation system where all new teachers can experience teaching in rural schools,” she said.
She said the NUTP, representing 160,000 teachers, was supportive of the Government’s move to make rural postings for new teachers compulsory.
However, it hoped the ministry would discuss the finer details of the implementation with the various stakeholders and teachers’ representatives.
Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also Education Minister, said the Government was considering making it compulsory for teachers to teach at least three to five years in rural and interior schools.
The Government is providing monetary and other incentives to encourage teachers to opt for rural postings.
They are now paid a hardship allowance of between RM500 and RM1,500 for rural stints. — Bernama
Source:
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=2010/3/9/nation/582398&sec=nation
