KUALA LUMPUR: Muhammad Asif Mohd Fahmi, the recipient of the Gold Award at the 14th Convocation of the Education Ministry’s Institute of Teacher Education (IPGM) this year, intends to produce more students who not only excel academically but also physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Speaking to the media after today’s convocation ceremony, the 23-year-old hopes to educate a balanced and quality generation of students through a diversified approach to ensure they grow as individuals holistically.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, having excelled in sports (football), uniformed unit, and leadership, Asif was chosen to further his studies at the Temenggong Ibrahim Campus (KTI) IPG in Johor Bahru in Physical Education. Although chosen to attend KTI IPG via the “Special Lane for Sports,” he also excelled academically, earning the title of Best Student of the Physical Education Option for 2020 and receiving the Director’s Award every semester.

His leadership qualities led to his selection as the head of the
KTI IPG Student Representative Committee for the 2022/2023 session and as one of the Top 7 IPGM Committee heads for the 2022/2023 session. Reflecting on his success, Muhammad Asif, who is now attached to Sekolah Kebangsaan Menjelara, Kepong, shared that his secret in managing his time and commitment to leadership, sports, and education is to draw up his daily schedule in advance.

“Each day, I will prepare my schedule for the next day. I’ll be busy with training at the IPGM Campus in the morning, football training in the evening, and academic assignments at night,” he said. He also shared the sacrifices he had to make, such as cutting short his holidays to focus on campus assignments. “While my friends would return home for two weeks, I would only go back for a week to spend time with my family. The other week will be spent on campus to complete my academic commitments,” he said.

He admitted to being under pressure, especially when he first held the post of campus head, but the support of his family and the
realization of his responsibility as a teacher helped him to persevere. “Alhamdulillah, I am thankful because my mother and father always give me moral support,” said Muhammad Asif, who is now ready to produce students who not only excel in studies but are also active in co-curricular activities.

Meanwhile, the recipient of the Special Co-Curricular Award, 23-year-old Jasmine Tay Jing Xuan, expressed her pride and gratitude for the award. “All the efforts I put in over the last five years have borne fruit. I am thankful to the Malaysian government, Education Ministry, IPGM, and also IPGMKTI,” she said. Jasmine, who is based at a school in Pontian, Johor, hopes to introduce wushu at the school, a sport she has been interested in since young.

The Negeri Sembilan-born Jasmine began representing the state in wushu in 2012 and made her international debut for Malaysia at the age of 13. Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek, who officiated the ceremony today, stated that about 6,000 IPGM graduates have received place
ments as teachers nationwide before the IPG Convocation Ceremony on September 30.

“This is one of the successes of the MADANI Government in ensuring earlier job opportunities for graduates. In fact, these new teachers have also received their first salary,” she said. She added that the IPG graduates have already started their duties as teachers in primary and secondary schools. Their placement was done fairly to meet the needs of teachers nationwide, in line with the government’s commitment to providing quality education to all students.

She further noted that some of the graduates have completed their Postgraduate Diploma Programme in Education (PDPP) for teaching at the secondary school level. “This shows the government’s efforts to have high-quality teachers at educational institutions to ensure student excellence nationwide,” she said. The five-day 14th Ministry of Education IPG Convocation Ceremony, which began on Sunday (Nov 3), involves 6,382 graduates who have completed their studies and teacher tra
ining at 28 IPG campuses and English Teaching Centres.