THE Education Ministry will deploy 10,096 new teachers nationwide next month to fill existing vacancies and address shortages in several key subjects, the House was told.
Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh said the ministry was committed to resolving teacher shortages through continuous recruitment and placement efforts across all states.
As of Sept 22, he said 10,045 newly appointed teachers had been placed in schools nationwide. The ministry will have assigned 20,141 new teachers this year alone, with an additional 10,096 scheduled for deployment in November.
Wong said that several agencies, including the Education Service Commission, the Public Service Department, and the Higher Education Ministry, coordinated the recruitment and placement processes.
He said as of August 31 this year, the ministry had approved 431,128 teacher posts and had filled 416,096 of them.
“This is a placement rate of 96.51%,” he said.
Wong said the highest placement rates were recorded in Putrajaya with 100%, Sabah (98%) and Labuan (97.7%), while Johor (95.31%), Pahang (95.47%), Sarawak (95.93%) and Penang (95.97%) were slightly below the national average.
“The ministry is aware that some subjects still face shortages, mainly Special Education, Bahasa Melayu, English, Physical Education, Islamic Studies, Moral Education and Design and Technology.
“We have introduced several measures to ensure qualified and capable candidates fill these positions,” he added.
Wong also said the ministry will focus on implementing psychological first aid (PFA) training for teachers next year to strengthen psychological and counselling support in schools.
He said the training, to be conducted in collaboration with the Health Ministry, will be coordinated through the respective state education departments and district education offices.
The Education Ministry, he said, recognised the vital role of wardens and discipline teachers as the frontliners in managing the welfare of students in hostels, and to detect early signs among those at risk of becoming bullies or victims of bullying.
“The ministry is also implementing the Minda Sihat (Healthy Mind) initiative to monitor early signs of mental health issues among Year Five and Six pupils, as well as secondary students.
“Through this initiative, data on students’ levels of depression and anxiety will be comprehensively identified to enable more targeted and effective interventions,” he said in reply to Datuk Seri Doris Sophia Brodi (GPS-Sri Aman).
Wong said the ministry was also strengthening the implementation of the Public Service Counselling Associates programme, which provides teachers with basic knowledge of psychology and counselling.
