The National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP) presented nine claims to the Ministry of Education today, including to improve the school-based management assessment system.  

Among the other claims were to improve the teaching profession in terms of management, administration, salary and promotions, said NUTP president Hashim Adnan at a Special Teachers Gathering, which was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also education minister.  

Hashim said the school-based management assessment needed to be reviewed as there have been many complaints about the system from teachers who claimed it was a burden to them.    

More than 5,000 NUTP members were present at the gathering.  

The ministry should also allocate standardised and sufficient funds for activities involving teachers, in order to ensure they were implemented effectively, he added.

Hashim also expressed hope that the government would create a grade N17 teacher's assistant post in all schools to overcome the student information system and inventory management.

"NUTP also urges the government to make it a requirement that administrators at district education offices have a teaching background, in order to improve management at this level," he said.   

Touching on student discipline, which is currently faced with various global challenges, Hashim said the ministry needed to approve the amended discipline regulations to improve the situation.

He also requested for the new salary schedule which was approved by the government earlier to be implemented early next year at the latest and for the State Education Department to manage the matter at state level.   

"This is to simplify the process of recruiting substitute teachers, including untrained teachers and teachers for Chinese and Tamil schools," he said.

NUTP has more than 180,000 members nationwide at present, he said.

- Bernama