SHAH ALAM - The Malaysian Ministry of Education (MOE) has revealed that a significant number of Bahasa Melayu and English language teachers have applied for early retirement over the past two years.
Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said that the highest number of Education Service Officers seeking optional retirement were from the fields of Bahasa Melayu, English Language, and Mathematics.
The figures stand at 2,862 for Bahasa Melayu, 1,146 for English Language, and 1,015 for Mathematics, according to MOE records.
"It was followed by Islamic Education teachers (755), Science (629) and History (483).
"The approval for optional retirement applications in 2023 is currently being considered by the central agency," she said via a written reply uploaded on Parliament's official website on Monday.
Fadhlina was responding to a question from Zulkifli Ismail (Jasin-PN), who inquired about the statistics of optional retirement applications among Education Service Officers categorized by field of expertise (option) from 2021 to 2023.