I have previously touched on the absurdly low take-up rate of the overambitious RM4.1 billion 1BestariNet project, with particular regards to the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) component. Based on the third series of the Auditor-General’s 2013 Report, less than one per cent of students actually use the VLE system, despite the fact that the 1BestariNet infrastructure has been installed in 8,807 schools.
It was found that the low utilisation of the e-learning tool is due to various factors, including the lack of technological infrastructure and supporting peripherals such as laptops and projectors, technical problems such as sluggish Internet access and inadequate coverage, as well as inconsistent stakeholder support from principals, teachers and parents.
Amongst all the factors, I would venture to suggest that the most important one of all is the quality of teachers. In the United Kingdom, the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted), which is the official school inspection body, derived the same conclusion in a 2009 report titled “Virtual learning environments: an evaluation of their development in a sample of educational settings.”
In the report, it was found that schools only managed to gain progress in the use of VLEs when teachers were able to use the e-learning tool enthusiastically and effectively. Conversely, when teachers were unable to maximise the potential of the system, students did not gain any benefits. In other words, the VLE system’s success or failure is very much dependent on teachers’ confidence and creativity in developing materials for their students.
The role of teachers is critical not only in the use of VLEs, but in fact in any education tool or pedagogy. For example, Stanford economist Dr Eric Hanushek estimated that students of very bad teachers would learn half a year’s worth of material in one school year, while students in the class of a very good teacher would learn a year and a half’s worth of material. This translates to a difference of one year’s worth of learning, simply on the basis of teacher competency.
If teachers are so critical, why has their development budget been slashed?
Unfortunately, our Ministry of Education has failed to grasp this important point. According to the Federal Expenditure Estimates (Anggaran Perbelanjaan Persekutuan) 2015, the total allocation for the “professional development” of teachers has been slashed from RM1.54 billion this year to RM961 million in 2015. This equates to a huge reduction of around RM600 million.
The budget for “professional development” is split into three categories, with all three having their budgets cut. For “pre-service training,” allocation has been reduced from RM948 million in 2014 to RM851 million next year. Meanwhile, “leadership training” is getting cut from RM181 million to RM62 million. The most drastic reduction, however, is in “in-serving training,” which is only getting RM48 million next year compared to RM410 million previously.
This drastic reduction in allocation for teacher development is shocking, especially given the fact that the Ministry of Education’s budget as a whole is seeing an increase from RM54.6 billion to RM56.6 million.
Having said that, I do notice a new expenditure item in the budget called “Transformation of Education Service Officers,” which will receive RM250 million for 2015. It is not obvious whether this programme involves the development of teachers, but assuming it does, it would only bring the total budget for professional development to RM1.21 billion. This still produces a shortfall of RM350 million compared to the RM1.54 billion allocated in Budget 2014.
Following this, the next logical question is: if allocation for teacher development has been reduced, then where has the money gone?
According to budget estimates, it would appear that the extra funds have gone to “strengthening education operations,” a category that has received a RM288 million increase, from RM609 million this year to RM897 million next year. Of this amount, RM615 million is allocated for “information technology,” representing a huge increase of RM200 million from the year before.
The Ministry needs to clarify this immediately. If it is true that the Government intends to sacrifice teacher development for the sake of more investments in information technology, then they are seriously misguided. As the examples in the UK have proven, even the best technology cannot improve learning outcomes if the teachers are not motivated and competent enough.