Kuala lumpur: The Ministry of Education (MOE) today announced 12 initiatives to empower and strengthen the role of teachers in conjunction with the 55th national-level Teachers' Day celebration this year. Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek outlined various measures aimed at supporting teachers' professional development and improving their working conditions.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the Google Certified Educator (GCE) Level 1 and Level 2 certification courses will continue to be offered free of charge to all teachers to support their advancement in digital literacy. The ministry will cover the cost of RM40 per teacher for GCE Level 1 and RM100 per teacher for GCE Level 2 to ensure that teachers nationwide benefit from this initiative.
Additionally, Fadhlina announced a special Federal Training Award for teachers serving in areas facing hardship, including hospital classes, floating schools, and rural schools in P1, P2, and P3 areas. The selected teachers will have the opportunity to pursue Master's and PhD programs, enabling them to further contribute to the profession while continuing to serve.
The MOE also plans to expand the Federal Teaching Scholarship to school leaders who wish to pursue Master's degrees, encouraging headmasters, principals, and senior assistants to take advantage of this opportunity to further their education.
Addressing demographic challenges in conducting online classes, the ministry introduced the Network Offline Digital Environment (NODE) to ensure digital learning can continue without internet access. The initiative, backed by a RM1 million allocation from the Tun Hussein Onn Teacher Foundation, aims to strengthen digital education in rural and island schools under hardship conditions.
The MOE has allocated RM169 million to provide devices to schools to enhance co-curricular activities and ensure the integration of technology in teaching and learning. An additional RM100 million has been set aside for the maintenance and upgrading of teachers' rooms nationwide, along with RM50 million for the maintenance of teachers' quarters to improve living conditions.
Fadhlina announced the abolition of the manual co-curricular recording system, granting schools autonomy to manage records based on their needs before entering data into the Physical, Sports and Co-curricular Activity Assessment (PAJSK) system.
The Preschool Reading Culture Empowerment Programme (PAKAT programme) will receive RM10.5 million to provide additional reading materials for all 10,515 preschool classes nationwide. An allocation of RM122.4 million has been directed to schools for the first phase of implementing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), and co-curricular programs.
Lastly, the Tun Hussein Onn Teacher Foundation will provide RM1,000 assistance to teachers whose children achieve 10As in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) 2025 examination. To further support the school community, a 50 per cent discount on school canteen rental payments will be offered for the first six months, aiming to maintain affordable and quality food for all.