KUALA LUMPUR: Students unable to enrol in their preferred classes due to limited number of teachers tops the list of complaints received by the National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP) over the implementation of the new Secondary Schools’ Standard Curriculum (KSSM).
NUTP secretary-general Harry Tan Huat Hock, however, said the union had not received many unfavourable comments on KSSM since it had been only two days into the new school term.
“Certain packages are more popular, such as those with Science and Accounting. Unfortunately, we don’t have many Accounting teachers and there are only about one or two classes.
“Schools have calculated and decided on the number of classes. Students with required qualifications will get to be enrolled, but the rest will not.
“It is another issue altogether if a student aced the Form Three Assessment (PT3) and could not get into preferred classes. But it will never happen because the selection is based on merit,” he told the New Sunday Times.
“If the student performed well (in Form Three), the school will definitely have a place for him or her.”
Tan said there were cases of students who wanted a subject package that was offered at another school, but refused to be transferred.
He said they wanted teachers to be sent to their schools.
“These are some of the problems that we are facing. There are requests from parents although the system is in place.”
Tan said not all of the 89 elective subjects were offered by the 3,000 secondary schools since their availability depended on the number of teachers available, as well as demand or necessity for the subjects.
The Education Ministry, he said, had only removed the Science and Arts streams.
“The subjects are still the same as in the previous system.
“Although there are some limitations, students have greater flexibility to choose their preferred subjects.”
Tan suggested that parents engage with the ministry to help address their problems.
“At the moment, I do not have the details and can’t comment on which school has or does not have the facilities.”
Parent Action Group for Education chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim urged the ministry to ensure schools had sufficient number of classrooms and qualified teachers in place to provide students with quality education.
The ministry, she said, should ensure schools had enough textbooks to cater to students under the Dual Language Programme (DLP).
She said students under DLP had been studying Science and Mathematics in English since Form One and as such, they should be able to continue to learn the subjects in English in Form Four.
“It is the responsibility of the ministry to ensure logistics are intact.
“Schools have a responsibility to ensure seamless continuity (for students under DLP).”
In terms of choosing elective subjects, Azimah said a one-time briefing on the subjects offered was feasible for Form Three students who were waiting for PT3 results.
On issues raised over the new subject packages, she said: “It will remain a status quo if no additional teachers are put in schools or teachers are trained to teach new subjects.”
National STEM Movement chairman Datuk Professor Noraini Idris said a pilot project for the system should be conducted before implementation.
“My concern would be if we allow students to choose their elective subjects, we don’t know if the combination is strong enough for entry requirements at higher learning institutions and whether they have a strong foundation for science-intensive and hi-tech jobs.”
The NSU learnt that the Education Ministry had started gathering feedback from secondary schools on problems arising from the implementation of the KSSM system.
It was also learnt that the ministry’s deputy director-general (policies and development) and acting director-general, Dr Habibah Abdul Rahim, would chair a meeting tomorrow to deliberate on several matters, including issues arising from the implementation of KSSM.