Firemen In The Education Department

I've sent this article to The Star, The Sun, and News Straits Times. Just in case it doesn't make it in the press.

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Our Education Department must have acquired secret training from the Fire Department. They operate under the same modus operandi. They go to work only after there is a fire.

I wonder if anyone had foreseen that it was only a matter of time before saturation point is reached, considering the constant mass production of education graduates. Did anyone think about making statistical checks to meet the supply of teachers with the demand for them?

Education graduates from local universities of 2006 have finished their studies in May 2006. The new year has greeted them. But up to this day, even Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia’s (KPM) scholarship holders have not yet received their posting.

Letters were sent from the Education Department, appealing for patience. No date of expectancy was given. The Education Department has to understand that when houses are on fire, telling the victims to wait is not a comforting response.

Yes, they have been quite letter-happy alright. Letters were sent out in October 2006 to all Education graduates to call for an interview. Some did not receive a letter at all. When checked, their names were “not on the list.”

The unreliability of Education Department’s database was further amplified when a UKM education graduate received two interview letters. One letter said the interview will be on the November 14, the other said November 15.

KPM scholarship holders received the same interview letter too. They went all the way to attend their interview on the given date, only to be sent back before the interview began. It was an admitted mistake that KPM scholarship holders should’ve been rightfully exempted from an interview.

Did I mention that the interview letters were sent via Pos Ekspress? The Education Department must’ve used a lot of taxpayer’s money to fight fires. Normal mail would have sufficed if they were a tad more efficient. In fact, millions of Ringgit would’ve been saved in retraining teachers, sending letters, and pumping money in all the wrong places. But I guess they have a lot of financial aid from the NEP to pull it off.

Speaking of financial aid, did you know that KPM scholarship holders were given RM26,000 to complete their degree, and they are bonded for 4 years of government service? KPM scholarship holders are required to serve the government within 12 months after finishing their degree. I guess the government is really pushing it. The government is not giving scholarship holders a chance to do their dues, and the scholarship contract makes them unable to find a job elsewhere during that period of time.

What are education graduates to do? In my opinion, KPM scholarship holders can go ahead and look for a permanent job in the corporate sector. And if they do get a posting after they already found a job, they can ask the government to release them from the bond. It’s not as though the government has not wasted taxpayer’s money before. And I’m sure hundreds of graduate teachers will be more than willing to take up their places.

On 29th October 2006, the press quoted Prof Zakaria, UPM Dean of Educational Studies saying, “there is no obligation for the government to hire them.” My question is this. If the government is not obligated to employ education graduates, how come teachers are not trained to function outside the four walls of a classroom throughout their 4 years of university education? The government is just wiping their hands clean. If graduate teachers add to the number of unemployment in the country, they are indeed victims of circumstances caused by the government.

I personally wouldn’t want to see the day when I look back in retrospect and say, “The years I spent in pursuit of my aspirations to be a teacher was a total waste of time.”

Here’s wishing a productive new year to our firemen in the Education Department. Time to strap on rubber boots and get to work. Fire has broken out.