Despite the fact that Chinese primary schools are part of the national education system, they have been suffering unfair and inequitable treatment by the BN government.
For decades, these schools have faced unfair treatment in issues like fund and teacher allocation, building of new schools etc.
Last September, Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin said that the Malaysia Education Blueprint would be the catalyst to a comprehensive transformation of the country’s education system to produce a generation of all-rounded pupils and educators.
He has also said more than once that improving the education system and raising it world-class standard is the Malaysian government’s top priority.
Can he talk about world class education if even basic issue like teacher shortage faced by the Chinese primary schools remains unresolved?
What transformation was he talking about when some Chinese primary schools have to fork out their own money to employ temporary teachers to resolve problem of teacher shortage?
In a statement released yesterday, United Chinese School Teachers Association (Jiao Zong)revealed that there is still a shortage of 380 teachers in the peninsular Chinese primary schools which need to be filled by temporary teachers after the assignment of trained and temporary teachers to these schools by the Education Ministry.
The statement said that as the temporary teacher allocation issued by the Education Ministry early this year to the Chinese primary schools have been completely used up, the Chinese primary schools will have to fork out their own money to employ the 380 temporary teachers needed.
This is not a new practice as some Chinese school boards of governors have been employing temporary teachers with their own money to resolve teacher shortage in their schools.
But how long should this continue?
On April 4, 2102, Tan Sri Muhyiddin said that the special committee set up by the Education Ministry to overcome the issue of insufficient teachers in Chinese vernacular schools was proof that the Government was really committed and serious about solving the issue immediately and effectively.
Muhyiddin must not only ensure that the Education Ministry will pay for the employment of the 380 temporary teachers required, he must fulfill his word that the teacher shortage problem faced by the Chinese primary schools will be immediately and effectively resolved.