Recently, a mathematics teacher who had repeatedly raised concerns over the primary school mathematics syllabus being too advanced for students is now facing possible dismissal or demotion by the Ministry of Education.
The teacher at a primary school in Gombak also complained via Facebook, that there is not enough time to cover the entire syllabus.
In a post on Facebook, Mohd Fadli Salleh said that because of his honesty and courage, the Ministry of Education is threatening to sack or demote him.
He then said that the reason is not because he’s a bad teacher, nor that he skips work nor that he gets into fights with other teachers.
“They can’t handle the truth. They only want to hear flattery and compliments.”
He then said that the issues he often complains to the ministry about includes:
- the dangerous weight of schoolbags,
- the highly advanced and dense syllabus,
- the massive number of students in a class,
- the huge number of subjects they learn.
He then explained that he made his concerns heard through the appropriate channel, however, no action was undertaken by the authorities.
“Look and read all of my concerns above. Can anyone tell me that I am lying about any of those? It’s all true. All facts. Things that everyone knows.”
However, he claims that those in the ministry refused to listen to him and accused him of lying just because he was ‘exposing’ the weaknesses of Malaysia’s education system.
“I am only a teacher. A teacher who is willing to sacrifice the job for the sake of our education. Till the end.”
Caught the attention of the minister himself
His Facebook post on the threat of disciplinary action has amassed plenty of attention from fellow netizens. It even managed to capture the attention of education minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin, who said he hoped to meet the teacher to obtain his feedback directly.
“I am interested to know more about this issue that you raised. If you have the time, cikgu, let’s meet,” Radzi said in a Facebook post last night.
Meanwhile, it also caught the attention of other politicians such as PKR information chief Fahmi Fadzil who said that he hoped the ministry will not proceed with any disciplinary action against the teacher.
“I hope the ministry will withdraw the disciplinary action against the teacher, who was only telling the truth.”
It’s not like he was accepting bribes, molesting students, misappropriating money, or being absent from his duties,” he said in a Facebook post.
Response to the minister
In a follow up post, Fadli acknowledged that Radzi has tagged him personally in order to resolve the issue.
“He has only done this tonight even though I have tagged him multiple times in the past to address my concerns. He never did respond to me. I think it’s because of the rakyat’s support for me. The rakyat are angry because this concerns their children.”
“The rakyat have risen up and sent the red signal. Maybe only after noticing this did he decide to respond to invite me to meet. Whatever it is, I hope that you have good intentions to understand my concerns. One fine day, we will meet,” he added.
We hope that Fadli doesn’t end up getting punished for simply voicing out his concerns and for wanting to improve the nation’s education system.
Also read: WATCH: M’sian Students & Teachers Send Off Deceased Teacher With Sorrowful Salute
