SHAH ALAM, Sept 10 — Numerous assignments outside the scope of core teaching duties, many of which must be carried out beyond school hours, are among the reasons teachers feel overburdened and choose to retire early.
The National Union of the Teaching Profession's (NUTP) President Aminuddin Awang said they are required to perform clerical work in addition to being burdened by the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) systems that are not user-friendly, causing them to lose interest in teaching.
“From our survey, one of the main factors is that many teachers are no longer comfortable dealing with all sorts of technology and ICT. They are required to key in various forms of data, sometimes answer surveys, and carry out repetitive tasks.
“We understand that technology is important, but at times, the applications or online systems introduced are not user-friendly. The systems remain weak and make it difficult for teachers to complete the assigned tasks.
"Technological progress is supposed to ease teachers’ work, but the opposite is happening,” he told Media Selangor.
Aminuddin was commenting on the issue of declining interest in the profession, identified as the main reason many teachers opt for early retirement.
Previously, Education Deputy Minister Wong Kah Woh said that from 2022 to May this year, nearly 20,000 teachers had chosen early retirement.
He noted that the ministry's data indicated that 67.44 per cent of teachers who applied for early retirement cited a lack of interest in continuing their careers as the primary reason.
This was followed by family issues (17.43 per cent), health problems (7.69 per cent), workload (5.37 per cent), and personal issues (2.08 per cent).
Creation of teaching assistant posts
To address the issue of teachers’ workload, Aminuddin urged the government to examine the matter comprehensively, including creating teaching assistant positions in all schools to take over clerical responsibilities.
“As for boarding schools, NUTP recommends that teachers should not be appointed as full-time wardens. These posts should be filled by external individuals, as the duties affect teachers’ daily routines.
“Please urgently examine the issue of teachers being burdened with non-core tasks. For the upcoming Budget 2026, NUTP hopes that steps will be considered to reduce teachers’ workload.
"Allocate more funding to the Education Ministry so more training can be conducted for teachers. The current allocation is insufficient, making it difficult to run courses,” he said.
When asked if salary was also a factor in early retirement, Aminuddin said that it was not the main reason, as teachers’ salary grades are among the highest in the civil service system.
