GEORGE TOWN: Some teachers had to get out of bed at 3am to complete their Training Management System (SPLKPM) modules, so it was a big relief when the Education Ministry announced that it would be abolished.
A teacher who wanted to be known only as Najihah, 45, said teachers often had to spend hours navigating the system after school or during weekends, just to ensure all requirements were met.
“This left us with less time to focus on lesson preparation and students’ needs,” she said, adding that the system did not function properly and frequently crashed during peak hours, forcing teachers to redo their work.
“To avoid this from happening, I often have to wake up early – sometimes at 3am – just to complete the modules,” she said, describing the system as inefficient and unreliable.
Najihah said that such technical issues further increased teachers’ stress levels and took a toll on their well-being, reinforcing calls for administrative processes to be simplified and made more teacher-friendly.
A science teacher who wanted to be known only as Stacy, 35, said the system had badly affected not only their core duties in classrooms but also encroached on their personal time.
“We welcome the decision (to abolish SPLKPM) as it is a step towards allowing teachers to focus more on teaching and students’ learning needs, rather than tedious administrative tasks,” she said.
Stacy added that the SPLKPM required teachers to complete various modules within specific timeframes, adding to their workload.
She said the system had undergone numerous changes over the years, which only made it more confusing and burdensome for teachers to keep up, further disrupting their teaching duties and work-life balance.
For Jeva, 50, the abolition of SPLKPM would definitely allow teachers to focus more on teaching rather than paperwork and online reporting.
“The system could be useful if the persistent technical and administrative problems can be solved,” he said.
Jeva said among the main issues are difficulties in accessing the system due to frequent server errors, particularly during peak hours.
He pointed out that access limitations based on state divisions restrict the system’s capacity to handle high traffic nationwide.
In addition, he said teachers’ concerns over the lack of consistent and sustainable support from system administrators leave users without timely assistance when technical problems arise.
“These shortcomings have added to teachers’ administrative burdens and disrupted their core teaching responsibilities,” he explained.
Penang state Education director Mohamad Dziauddin Mat Saad said it was a blessing that the SPLKPM was abolished.
“This is indeed among the seven pillars announced by the minister to reduce teachers’ workload.
“The ministry’s ultimate goal is to provide teachers with full space and freedom to be creative and focus on teaching,” he said.
He said he was grateful that teachers’ voices were heard by the ministry.
On Sunday, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek announced that SPLKPM would be abolished to reduce teachers’ workload.
She said the decision was made after the ministry’s ongoing assessment of teachers’ workloads and feedback from educators.
She also said the abolition of the system was intended to give teachers the space to focus fully on the classroom, especially ahead of the implementation of the new curriculum and education development plan scheduled for next year.
