SK Simpang Rawai headmaster Che Aslan Che Ismail received a cake on behalf of all teachers from a group of pupils in conjunction with Teachers Day in Marang, Terengganu. — Bernama
TASKED with shaping the country’s future, teachers are celebrated every year on May 16 as the nation honours their hard work and dedication.
Dubbed the backbone of our education system, we celebrate them with inspiring stories from a Johor teacher dedicating her career to preschoolers in Sabah to the Education Ministry giving a commitment to improving several structures in the system.
She has the young at heart
KOTA KINABALU (May 17): Her passion to teach children in Sabah and ensure that they are not left behind in getting a good education has taken Sharin Aizrulidana Samsuri, 46, thousands of kilometres away from her hometown in Kota Tinggi, Johor, in the last 20 years.
The pre-school teacher at SK Bukit Padang here said she dedicated her time to working on new ideas for early childhood education to create an efficient learning environment in line with current needs.
The mother of three said she was once offered to teach at her home state but decided to stay as she loved the Land Below the Wind.
Throughout her 21 years of experience in education, Sharin Aizrulidana served as a lecturer at several private institutions of higher learning in Sabah before pursuing her interest to be a preschool teacher in 2005.
“However, I still have a lot to learn as the challenges in educating children is enormous, especially when it comes to the Alpha generation which requires teachers to constantly change teaching and learning methods,” she told Bernama.
Sharing her experience as a pre-school teacher in Sabah, Sharin Aizrulidana said it began when she underwent industrial training in a rural school to fulfil the Diploma in Education (Postgraduate Management Course) Preschool Studies Option course requirements while she was at Keningau Teachers Training College.
Her passion for the teaching profession grew after experiencing the joy of seeing little children mastering the four language skills (reading, writing, counting, and reasoning) before they moved on to Year One.
Sharin Aizrulidana admitted that the online home teaching and learning method that teachers had to implement due to the Covid-19 pandemic was a daunting task as pre-schoolers needed hands-on and multisensory learning activities to facilitate understanding of the skills being taught.
Despite the challenge, she said she continued to commit herself to the online teaching and learning sessions, and she even held intensive reading classes via video calls, one of several learning method innovations that she created to help pre-schoolers to learn.
“Besides preparing a special corner in students’ homes to make it easier for them to use the innovative materials I created, I also created learning videos which were then uploaded to YouTube,” she added.
The Business Management (Finance) graduate from Universiti Putra Malaysia said by having a positive mindset and treating the challenges she encountered in the profession as a religious obligation and not a burden, she was able to win 48 awards throughout her career, including international recognition.
One of the awards she received was the Innovative Teacher award (pre-school category) in conjunction with this year’s national-level Teachers Day celebrations.
“This is the second time I have received an award at the national level.
“This award motivates me further to continue working to educate children,” she added.
Radzi (centre) with recipients of the Tokoh Kepimpinan Pendidikan Kebangsaan and Tokoh Guru Kebangsaan awards during the 51st Teachers Day 2022 celebration at Universiti Malaysia Kelantan in Bachok. — Bernama
‘Improved school system will benefit teachers’
BACHOK (May 17): Teachers can look forward to spending more of their time teaching as the Education Ministry has given a commitment to improving several structures in the system, says Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin.
“We will ensure that the inefficiencies in the structure of the school system are addressed so that the teachers can spend their time educating optimally.
“We will also restructure the teacher transfer process, whereby applications can be made throughout the year involving four transfers a year based on the suitability of the place applied for and the subject options in the state concerned.
“Besides that, we will also ensure that teachers can teach other subjects apart from their core subject so as to give them an advantage when requesting a transfer,” he told a press conference after attending the launch of the national-level 51st Teachers’ Day 2022 celebration at Universiti Malaysia Kelantan here yesterday, Bernama reported.
Radzi said teacher development and well-being would also be given attention to ensure efficient school operations and teachers.
“We went down to the ground to listen to views and grievances from educators during the management engagement sessions held earlier,” he added.
At the event, Datu Dr Adi Badiozaman @ Badio Zaman Tuah was named Tokoh Kepimpinan Pendidikan Kebangsaan 2022, while Roslan Yatim was recipient of the Anugerah Tokoh Guru Kebangsaan 2022.
Teachers are our guiding light, says PM
KUALA LUMPUR (May 17): Teachers are like candles that illuminate people’s lives for a lifetime despite challenges, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
He hoped teachers would continue to serve with dedication and uphold the people’s trust in educating children of the “Malaysian Family”.
In conjunction with Teachers Day yesterday, he said May 16 was a meaningful day for educators; for their services and sacrifices in educating the nation.
“Happy Teachers Day to all educators who never get tired of being a beacon for the Malaysian Family,” he said in a post on his Facebook page yesterday, Bernama reported.
Ismail Sabri said this year’s Teachers Day celebration, themed “Guru Tunjang Sekolah Sejahtera”, coincided with their commitment to always give their best in producing the country’s future generation.
The launch of the national-level 51st Teachers’ Day Celebration 2022 was held at Universiti Malaysia Kelantan.
Teachers and ex-teachers of SK Convent Green Lane celebrate Teachers Day and Hari Raya at Mahani’s house.
Teachers celebrate their day together after two years apart
GEORGE TOWN (May 17): After two years of not being able to celebrate Teachers Day properly, a group of teachers and former teachers of SK Convent Green Lane held a get-together at a colleague’s house in Bayan Lepas.
Deepa Chandramohan, 43, who was at the gathering, said some 10 teachers and former teachers of the school attended the special occasion.
“It is something that we have not been able to do for the past two years. We feel so happy and excited to finally be able to celebrate our day.
“At first, a few teachers from the school and I decided to celebrate Hari Raya at our colleague’s house, which coincided with Teachers Day.
“We did not plan anything and only wanted to have a get-together with our colleagues,” Deepa said.
Mahani Mohamed Eusoff, 48, said she offered to host the do at her home yesterday.
“As it is still Hari Raya, I also wanted to celebrate the festivity with my colleagues.
“My mother helped me prepare some food for our guests, which included nasi minyak, rendang and ketupat.
“All my colleagues wished each other ‘Happy Teachers Day’ and ‘Selamat Hari Raya’ when they arrived at my house.
“It feels great and this is an occasion that will be remembered for the rest of our lives,” she said.
Meanwhile, SJK (C) Li Tek B in Lintang Macallum 1, had its own way of celebrating Teachers Day.
Teacher Soh Po Tek said a display board was erected at the school compound so that pupils could decorate it to express their gratitude to their teachers.
“It is one way we let our pupils express their wishes and love to teachers on Teachers Day.
“The idea for the display board came from me and my colleagues at the school last year when Teachers Day could not be celebrated due to the movement control order.
“Rather than getting an interactive board that is expensive, we preferred the display board that enables pupils to use their creativity.
“The board was not only used for Teachers Day but also during other festivals like Chinese New Year and Hari Raya,” he added.
RM8.88mil upgrade for teachers’ rooms
JOHOR BARU (May 17): A total of RM8.88mil has been allocated by the state to upgrade 1,775 teachers’ rooms in schools statewide as a show of appreciation to teachers, says Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.
He said the move was to ensure that some 53,000 teachers have a comfortable place after completing their duties.
“In appreciation of the sacrifices of teachers in Johor, I am pleased to announce special assistance for teachers’ rooms statewide, and I hope they will make the best use of this allocation.
“Schools will receive RM5,000 to provide comfort to all teachers,” he said after attending the Teachers Day celebration and Aidfilfitri gathering at the Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar (MSAB) here yesterday.
“The teachers can use this to fix air conditioning, get a microwave oven or even a fridge,” he said, announcing a further RM200,000 for repairs at the school’s hall.
Onn Hsafiz added that MSAB was the oldest school in the state, having been built in 1914.
