PETALING JAYA: The National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) has called for a pause in the implementation of the proficiency test for Bahasa Melayu (BM) teachers.
Its secretary-general Fouzi Singon said the Education Ministry should immediately suspend the Malay Language Proficiency Test for Teachers (UPBMG) and similar assessment policies until a framework for professional and emotional support is developed.
Fouzi said the ministry’s move to implement the proficiency test has sparked concern among teachers, adding that, while on paper the UPBMG may look reasonable, it has failed to take into consideration several key factors.
“At the implementation level, they clearly failed to consider the emotional reality, workload and psychological strain that is increasingly burdening teachers,” he said.
“Have teachers been deemed failures to the point that their competence must constantly be re-tested?
“The approach of continuously introducing new assessment instruments, without a sustainable support plan, only sows distrust toward teachers’ professionalism,” he added.
Fouzi said the weakness does not lie with teachers.
“The main issue is that the support they need is never sufficient. The division responsible for training and professional development now seems passive and disconnected from the real needs of the classroom,” he claimed.
“Without comprehensive investment in teacher training, any form of assessment becomes just another burden and not a driver for quality.”
Fouzi said teachers are not only overwhelmed with curriculum and excessive administrative duties, but they are also subjected to prolonged mental stress and emotional exhaustion.
He said policies that are introduced without proper consultation with the grassroots will only erode trust.
“If English has Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), and now BM has UPBMG. Will all subjects and all teachers eventually be forced to go through such programmes?” he said.
“It seems that some officers have run out of ideas and are simply duplicating what already exists.”
Fouzi called for the establishment of an Independent Teachers’ Commission, made up of experienced teachers and academics, to re-evaluate policies related to teaching professionalism.
He also called for a structured professional teacher training programme and the establishment of official mental health support channels at district education offices and state education departments to provide continuous psychological support.
Fouzi was responding to a circular by the Education Ministry requiring teachers who have been confirmed and have served at least one year and have at least three years to go before retirement to sit for the test.
“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.
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 facilitators.
