JASIN, July 14 — The Education Ministry (MOE) is considering setting limits on the number of teachers participating in out-of-school activities to help reduce workload pressures, says Education Director-General Mohd Azam Ahmad.
Discussions will be held to determine appropriate limits on daily teacher absences due to external programmes, ensuring teachers can remain focused on core classroom duties.
“We will be discussing how many teachers can be away from school at a time for such activities,” he told the press after launching the 2025 national-level Mahrajan Al-Quran Sekolah-Sekolah (MQSS) programme at Merlimau Polytechnic today.
The initiative follows recent remarks by Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek, who outlined seven measures to ease teacher workload, including eliminating low-impact programmes and assigning non-teachers as examination invigilators.
Azam added that the issue of teacher workload has been a key focus since he took office and requires a holistic approach.
He also called on principals and headteachers to better coordinate external and co-curricular activities to avoid overburdening teachers.
“When students come to school, they must receive their right to learn. Teachers should not be weighed down by programmes that have little to no impact.
“Tasks that are unprofessional or unrelated to teaching and student learning should be dropped,” Azam said.
— Bernama
