THE DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION National Report of Malaysia ...

(b) Measures in support of the Declaration and Recommendations of the 45 th Session
of the International Conference on Education
These recommendations were highlighted by the various measures undertaken by
the MOE even as UNESCO was working out the details of its conference on education
in 1996. The MOE was already developing several initiatives to meet the aspirations
enshrined in our National Philosophy of Education. These initiatives were aimed at
ensuring that the best are recruited for the profession, upgrading the status of
teachers, upgrading primary education, strengthening teacher education, updating
teacher education, enhancing teaching excellence and supporting teachers working in
challenging contexts. The following are some of the measures undertaken.
Recruitment of teachers. Stringent measures have been put in place to ensure
that only the qualified gets into teacher training. Candidates must have at least a
good credit in the option subject and must have at least four other credits in the core
subjects like the national language, English, mathematics and science or history.
Candidates have to sit for an aptitude test and undergo an interview which
incorporates the evaluation of candidates’ EQ.
Upgrading the status of teachers. Efforts have also been made to upgrade the
status of teachers through raising the qualifications of teachers and the salary scales
of teachers. A specialized university for teacher education has been set up and
teaching qualifications have been raised from certificate to diploma level.
Specialized in-service courses are conducted by all the 28 teacher training
institutions in the country. Deserving teachers are also rewarded with scholarships
for masters and doctoral programs in local and foreign universities.
Strengthening teacher education. The Cabinet Committee Report on the
Implementation of National Education Policy, 1979 stressed the need to enhance
teacher education for quality education. To ensure teacher training of high quality,
lecturers should possess higher academic and professional qualifications, apart from
other personal qualities appropriate for their role as teacher trainers..." The MOE has
therefore increased the intake of teacher educators with basic degrees in the
relevant disciplines. In 1996, the number of graduate lecturers exceeded that of
non-graduates by nearly 700 per cent. Consequently the number of non-graduates
has decreased to only 12.5 per cent. Table 2.4.1 gives a breakdown of the staff
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