TANJUNG MALIM, Dec 21 — The government has assured it will resolve the issue of graduates with education degrees who have yet to be emplaced in schools.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said approval had been given to the Education Ministry to fill up teaching vacancies next year.
“InsyaAllah, we will resolve (this issue) because approval has been given to the Education Ministry. Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek has announced there will be an addition of teachers for 2024, a significant increase to fill teacher vacancies in 2024.
“…what is important is that for 2024, for the first time, there is an increase, an addition of teachers in secondary schools in our country,” he said during the ‘Temu Anwar’ dialogue session with undergraduates at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) today.
Anwar was responding to a question from the floor on media reports that 4,390 education degree graduates had completed their studies between 2011 and 2020, with some still awaiting interviews for placement in schools.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister said he has requested vice-chancellors and universities nationwide to monitor their students to ensure they do not misuse the academic freedom granted and are influenced by extreme ideologies.
“I am only worried about one thing… the spread of ideologies, fanaticism… and by this I mean when they talk about race, (they claim) the Malays will lose out, Penang will be Christianised, and that Anwar had ‘sold’ the Malays out and betrayed them.
“These are the things that we need to control… it is fine if they (those involved) want to raise the issues in a civilised manner, but if they get carried away with the actions of some desperate politicians, then we will lose out.
“I am asking the vice-chancellors, the university authorities to have some control, not because I fear their political ideologies, they are a small number… but the control is to save this country, to control because this sort of fanaticism will divide the people,” he said.
Meanwhile, Anwar, responding to another student’s question, said the excessively high national debt was one of the reasons why the previous government’s intention to provide full tertiary education financing for M40 students, who mostly are National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) borrowers, could not be continued.
“In my speech, I said that if the government’s financial situation is so good, in my opinion, education from primary school to university should be free. That is my view.
“That is my philosophy about education because education, like security, is the government’s responsibility (and the same) with healthcare facilities.
“But the current situation, you need to know, when I took over this position (Prime Minister), the debt was RM1.5 trillion, and if not paid, it will bankrupt the country… a 5.6 per cent deficit. This means if you earn RM1,000, you spend RM1,600. The government cannot survive, so we have to do it in stages (to resolve education issues),” he said.
However, Anwar said the government will consider the proposal (100 per cent financing for M40 students), adding he will get Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir to seriously look into the matter with PTPTN before taking it up with the Finance Ministry.
— Bernama
