Monday October 20, 2008
Don’t rush to make History compulsory
MALACCA: The National Union of the Teaching Profession wants the Education Ministry not to rush to introduce History as a compulsory primary school subject to prevent undue burden on both teachers and pupils.
Its president, Hashim Adnan, said the introduction of the subject without proper planning would undoubtedly add to a heavier workload for teachers and pupils who already have to contend with the Kajian Tempatan subject.
“We feel that the teaching of History as a compulsory subject could be done by including it as part of Kajian Tempatan. Intro-ducing it as a new subject will cause a ‘culture shock’ for the pupils,” he told reporters yesterday.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had recently made a call for History to be made a compulsory subject in primary schools nationwide.
On a separate issue, Hashim said that teachers were unhappy that they were required to attend activities or perform duties on Sunday.
“It’s their right to rest on Sunday and spend time with the family. The ministry should not take away this right,” he added.
Meanwhile, secretary-general, Lok Yim Pheng, called on the ministry to cut red-tape for teachers suffering from bipolar disorder, who are seeking relief from normal school duties.
“It is dangerous to allow teachers in an unstable mental state to come into daily contact with students while waiting for their applications to be approved,” she said.
She said there were about 500 applications from teachers suffering from various critical illnesses who are seeking to be placed in the pool, but whose applications were taking up to one to two years for mention.
Although refusing to put a figure on the number of teachers suffering from the disorder, she said that the union is currently dealing with a case involving a teacher on the brink of a breakdown.
She noted that those with bipolar disorder tended to suffer from depression and were prone to emotional outbursts that could lead to untoward incidents befalling students.
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