Hishamuddin: PTK passing grade very high
KUALA LUMPUR: The poor performance of teachers in the Penilaian Tahap Kecekapan (Assessment of Efficiency Level) test is not reflective of their ability to teach, Education Minister Datuk Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said.
“The passing grade of 80% is very high. We will see if it should continue to be called PTK for kecekapan (efficiency) or kecemerlangan (excellence),” he said.
He said he could not see how some parties regarded teachers who had failed the assessment as being unfit to teach as the high number of top scorers produced each year proved otherwise.
“Look at Terengganu, for example. They have the highest number of top scorers for the UPSR (Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah) for three years in a row.
“So let us study the impact of the PTK. I can give you my assurance that it does not reflect the ability of our teachers,” he said after attending the Malaysian Schools Sports Council-Milo 2003 award ceremony yesterday.
Under the Malaysian Remuneration Scheme, all civil servants must sit for and pass the assessment to qualify for vertical and horizontal salary increments as well as promotions.
The Star reported on Saturday that only 0.9% of the 130,000 teachers nationwide who took the PTK last year passed the test.
The National Union of the Teaching Profession had said teachers would now be uninspired to work and find it difficult to face their students who would know they had failed.
Asked if the content of the PTK was relevant to teachers, Hishammuddin said it was an area that would be looked into.
“The PTK has an impact on all ministries and professional organisations. Input and feedback will be gathered from not only teachers but also doctors, surgeons, military personnel and so on,” he added.
On the Bar Council’s opposition to a move for police to detain students who were found loitering in shopping complexes, he said council members were free to meet him to discuss the matter.
“As a lawyer, I am aware of what they are saying. Come and see me and we can discuss it factually,” he said.
He also announced that a new department called the Physical Education and Sports Department would spearhead the planning and development of programmes for school athletes.
It was formerly a division under the Schools Department.
Heading the department is deputy education director-general Abdullah Abdul Kadir.
Hishammuddin earlier joined Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali in handing awards to eight students and two teachers for their outstanding performance in sports.
The students were Yeoh Kok Soon and Norlela Jilani (special education category), Mohd Khairul Akmal Kamal and Nur Shazwani Zullkafli (special award), Cheong Khung Tze and Neesha Thirumalaichelvam (young hopefuls) and Daniel Willeam Henry Bego and Nurul Fatiha Abdul Hamid (sports boy and girl of the year).
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