Not my scope of work, says Radzi on disciplinary action against Math teacher

SHAH ALAM - Caretaker senior education minister Datuk Radzi Jidin says he is not able to give an update on the Education Services Disciplinary Board’s decision involving Mathematics teacher Mohd Fadli Mohamed Salleh.

He said this does not fall under his scope of work and he cannot interfere with the affairs of the board.

"I cannot update on that. It is not within my scope of work as the Education Minister to interfere in the affairs of the Education Service Disciplinary Board," he told the media after officiating the Reading Progress Initiative for Education Ministry schools at Mardhiyyah Hotel and Suites, here, this morning.

This comes after Education director-general Datuk Pkharuddin Ghazali said yesterday the disciplinary board was scheduled to meet on Oct 17 after receiving the letter of representation submitted by Fadli on Oct 14.

Fadli, on his Facebook page, claimed that he would be fired or demoted for expressing his opinions on the learning syllabus, which he thought was too advanced and unsuitable for students.

He had also said that it was harmful for students as they had too many subjects, too many students in class, and having to make them carry heavy bags.

However, Radzi said he has absolute trust that the board will handle the issue professionally although he has no say on that matter.

He said as a minister, he has to distance himself from the affairs of the Education Services Disciplinary Board but he trusted them to come up with a decision from the assessment done on the issue.

When asked about the teacher’s claim that he will be fired for giving his views on the education system of the Education Ministry, Radzi said he has never stopped teachers from voicing out their opinions.

“In any of my dialogues with the teachers, I have never closed the space for the teacher to give their opinions.

“You can see this from the many improvements that have been made in this ministry based on the views of the teachers,” he said.

He said the issues brought by the teacher are not issues that can be settled in a day, but it needs continuous efforts from the ministry.