Cut Down on Paperwork
Posted on: Friday, 16 May 2008, 00:00 CDT
By Samuel Yesuiah
AS we mark Teachers' Day today, it would be timely to look into the role of teachers and the challenges facing them.
Teachers play a significant role in the learning process. Good infrastructure, equipment and facilities in schools complement good teaching but these factors cannot replace the fundamental and paramount role of the teacher in the classroom.
The teacher is indispensable in the teaching and learning process. It is imperative that the welfare of the teacher is addressed to improve the quality of education. In order to prevent a teacher from stress and burnout, the ministry needs to review the role and duties of the teacher in the classroom.
Long hours of teaching in overcrowded classrooms, with 40 to 50 boisterous students, can lead to much stress for teachers. Teachers in large classes are also not able to cater to the individual abilities of the students. The ideal ratio of 25 students per class has yet to be given serious consideration by the ministry.
Student indiscipline, every teacher's nightmare, is common in primary and secondary schools. Students who are not academically inclined cause a lot of problems for teachers.
Instilling discipline could incur the wrath of parents and school heads.
Parents have been known for taking legal action against teachers for reprimanding their children.
It is hoped that the ministry will relocate students who are not academically inclined to vocational or technical schools so that their full potential can be realised.
The Information Technology era, which was supposed to create a paperless society, has, on the contrary, burdened teachers with loads of unnecessary paperwork. Many teachers spend a lot of time doing clerical work in school rather than actual classroom teaching.
The pressure is greater when teachers teach examination classes because weekends and school holidays are spent conducting extra classes and workshops to coach students for the examinations. And adding to the anxieties of teachers are principals seeking glory in good examination results.
An educational overhaul involving both teachers and students is vital for the future well-being of our society.
As a former director of education services remarked, "the school is a building with classrooms, while the classroom is a building with four walls with the future in it".
SAMUEL YESUIAH
Seremban
(c) 2008 New Straits Times. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Source: New Straits Times
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