Johor has appointed 366 short-term teachers at primary schools and 294 at secondary schools. — Filepic
A TOTAL of 660 teachers have been placed in primary and secondary schools in Johor through the Malaysia Short-term Employment Programme (MySTEP).
State education, information and communications committee chairman Norliza Noh said the short-term measure had helped address teacher shortage due to those on maternity leave, unpaid leave or with prolonged illness.
“In Johor, the number of MySTEP teachers so far is 366 in primary schools and 294 in secondary schools,” she said during the state assembly sitting at Bangunan Sultan Ismail in Kota Iskandar, Iskandar Puteri.
She was replying to Anuar Abd Manap (BN-Pemanis) who asked whether the state government intended to help primary and secondary school teachers deal with their workload outside teaching hours.
Norliza said the appointment of new permanent teachers and support group members in schools came under Education Ministry through the Education Service Commission.
“The appointment of new staff in schools needs to be refined as it will have significant financial implications on the state.”
She said the state government, in collaboration with Johor Education Department, always strived to take care of teachers, especially to ensure that the teaching and learning process could be implemented effectively.
She noted that co-curricular activities were also part of teachers’ duties to produce students who were well-balanced physically and emotionally.
“The Education Department will ensure schools that implement any activities, especially outside teaching hours, have the permission of the district education office.
“The schools will be monitored from time to time.
“There are several additional incentives provided by the state to teachers involved in activities outside teaching hours.
“For example, they get allowances from Yayasan Pelajaran Johor for being involved in Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia tuition and English language improvement programmes.
“These programmes are carried out with the cooperation of the Education Department,” she added.
Norliza also said that the Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) Football Club grassroots development programme, held since 2016, saw the involvement of the Education Department, Johor Football Association, state sports council and 13 selected schools.
“There are 38 teachers conducting coaching in the programme and they get an allowance of RM400 per month from JDT,” she disclosed.
