Budget 2023 did not address teacher shortage issue, says NUTP

SHAH ALAM - The National Union of Teachers (NUTP) says the revised Budget 2023 did not address the shortage of teachers faced by the Education Ministry.

In expressing joy over the latest budget allocation for the education ministry, its president said the ministry now needs more replacement teachers.

"In order to reduce the workload of teachers, NUTP wanted more allocations for substitute teachers, or myStep, in the District Education Office (PPD).

"Schools now find it difficult to find substitute teachers when there are teachers on maternity leave, half-paid leave, or long sick leave.

"As a result, the existing teachers at the school had to take over the duties of the teachers who were on leave," he told Sinar Daily.

Aside from the need for more replacement teachers, Amiruddin expressed his desire for the government to subsidise internet subscriptions for teachers in order to support the digitization of education.

"This is significant because teachers are heavily involved in a variety of online data entry tasks," he added.

While applauding the government's decision to allocate funds for the repair of 380 dilapidated schools, NUTP would like to emphasise that there are 10,000 schools that require repairs.

"We received many complaints from principals and headmasters that it is very difficult to get allocations for school maintenance, which is not only for the comfort of teachers and students but also, more importantly, involves safety aspects.

"NUTP hopes that there will be room for more schools to receive school maintenance allocations."