Merlimau: The Ministry of Education (MOE) is considering setting limits on the number of teachers participating in out-of-school activities to help reduce workload pressures, says Education director-general Dr Mohd Azam Ahmad. He said discussions will be held to determine appropriate limits on daily teacher absences due to external programmes, ensuring teachers can remain focused on core classroom duties.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the initiative follows recent remarks by Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek, who outlined seven measures to ease teacher workload, including eliminating low-impact programmes and assigning non-teachers as examination invigilators. Mohd Azam said the issue of teacher workload has been a key focus since he took office and requires a holistic approach.

He also called on principals and headteachers to better coordinate external and co-curricular activities to avoid overburdening teachers. ‘When students come to school, they must receive their right to learn. Teachers shouldn’t be weighed down by programmes that have little to no impact,’ he said. ‘Tasks that are unprofessional or unrelated to teaching and student learning should be dropped,’ he added.