I REFER to your report, “Unburden teachers with admin assistants” (NST, Dec 13). I agree with the statement by Negri Sembilan Umno representative Abdul Rahman Mohd Redza that the government should provide schools with administrative assistants to reduce the burden of teachers.
A teacher’s role is to teach;
however, they are burdened with administrative work as well.
Rahman said he supported the idea to enhance national schools with the focus on improving infrastructure and the quality of teachers and students.
However, in order to produce quality human capital, teachers need to focus on teaching and not administration.
An educator’s task is not easy.
Teachers have to deal with students’ behavioural issues and, at the same time, ensure that the students understand what they teach.
A teacher must possess a broad knowledge of the subject matter and curriculum, as well as have the enthusiasm and desire to make a
difference in the lives of young people.
However, if too much work is assigned to teachers, they cannot perform their job well.
Providing administrative assistants to handle clerical work would lessen the burden of teachers. It will also increase job opportunities in schools.
The wellbeing of a nation depends on the quality of its citizens, and the quality of its citizens depends on the quality of education.
Quality education is provided by
good teachers.
Thus, it is important to ensure that our teachers are able to perform at their optimum This idea should be applied to teachers from all levels of schooling, starting from kindergarten, to primary and secondary school.
I feel that the Education Ministry should strongly recommend to the cabinet to come up with a more comprehensive policy to ensure that teachers are not burdened with duties other than teaching.
Hopefully, the implementation of such a policy will help to
enhance teaching efficiency and produce a better future generation.
n Amni Ahmad, Shah Alam, Selangor