KUALA LUMPUR: An online survey has found that more than 90 per cent of Facebook users who visited the Facebook news portal pages of Berita Harian, Harian Metro and New Straits Times Online agreed that teachers should be allowed to assess/evaluate headmasters.
More than 20,000 voted in the survey which was put up yesterday. The poll also drew critical comments from readers.
# A FB user by the name of Gopala Krishnan said it was an ideal method for improving schools and the learning process in tandem with best practices in developed nations.
“The teachers are the immediate clients of the headmaster’s and are best placed to judge the headmaster’s performance rather than an officer seating in the Education Department, who has less contact with the school and the headmaster,” he wrote, adding that such evaluation should be discreet and confidential
# Wilfred Wong, who also supported the idea said such evaluations should be done anonymously without fear.
He wrote: ”Why not? I heard stories of power abuse and fund mismanagement by principals. Such evaluations need to be done anonymously and without fear of persecution.”
# Another user, Aaron YhTham, said it should a two-way process, where teachers evaluate the principals and vice-versa, so that they could help one another improve.
# A man using the nickname ‘Last Man Standing’said it could encourage a sense of responsibility and stop headmasters from threatening to transfer teachers.
“Sometimes, teachers are forced to do things outside their will and conscience. In such situations, teachers should report the threat to the District Education Office near them,” he said.
# Netizen Admiral Bentong Terlajak said the proposal was good. “It is not easy for lower-level staff to climb the career ladder and some principals make it worse by being biased,” he said.
Meanwhile, the 10 percent who disagreed with the idea felt that it was simply rude for subordinates to question or evaluate their higher-ups.