PETALING JAYA: Teachers who are not Bahasa Melayu (BM) specialists but teach the subject in schools must now sit for a test to ensure their language skills meet national standards.
In a recent circular, the Education Ministry said those required to take the Malay Language Proficiency Test for Teachers (UPBMG) include confirmed teachers who have served at least one year and have at least three years left before retirement.
“The test is not only confined to teachers in public schools but also applies to teachers in special education schools, vocational institutes, Form Six colleges and teacher training colleges,” the ministry said.
The test instruments are provided by the Malaysian Examinations Council and are based on the Bahasa Melayu Standard Curriculum, a competency standard that serves as a reference for the use of the language at the national, regional and global levels.
Non-BM option teachers must achieve a minimum of Level 4 in the six-tier test, indicating the ability to summarise ideas from complex texts using appropriate language and discourse.
Once that is achieved, they will be prioritised for teaching the subject.
The ministry added that the first-time fee for the test would be borne by the government.
However, if candidates fail to achieve the required results, they would have to retake the test at their own expense.
“The UPBMG is also open to BM specialist teachers teaching the subject. For them, the test fee will be self-funded,” according to the circular signed by the ministry’s director-general Mohd Azam Ahmad.
BM specialists, meanwhile, must reach Level 5, which demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate information from various sources using refined and high-level language.
Teachers who achieve Level 5 will be prioritised for roles such as curriculum developers, evaluators or teaching and learning (PdP) facilitators.
They may also be appointed as item writers or examiners for public examination papers, reviewers or evaluators of textbooks and teaching materials, and they will be eligible for the Federal Training Award.
The circular also states that teachers funded by the ministry are not allowed to withdraw or postpone their test date after registration.
“If they fail to attend after registering, they may face disciplinary action, which will be recorded in the Service Record Book in accordance with the Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 1993.
“Those who wish to withdraw or postpone their test date must submit a strong justification to obtain approval from the Institute of Teacher Education,” it said.
This rule, however, does not apply to self-funded candidates.
