KUALA LUMPUR – A group of rejected teacher candidates are alleging mismanagement of the contract-based recruitment scheme, saying the prioritisation of applicants with educational certifications has led to reduced success rates for those without teaching accreditation.
A group spokesman, who wanted to be known as Syu, told The Vibes that candidates are unsatisfied with the way the scheme has been handled from the very start.
“Applications were opened in September last year and results were supposed to be announced two months later, but we only managed to know of our fate on May 28,” she said, adding that the Education Service Commission (SPP) had given them a faulty link in their initial results notifications.
She added that this only aggravated frustrated applicants as it was then discovered that many had failed to obtain posts.
Claiming that there were barely any candidates accepted for Bahasa Malaysia, visual arts education, Islamic studies and special education, Syu alleged that the low success rate is due to the intake of teacher graduates from the previous special one-off recruitment scheme.
She shared with The Vibes a letter purportedly sent from the SPP to candidates of the one-off scheme who had initially been rejected due to incomplete documents.
The letter, believed to have been delivered before the results of the contract-based scheme were out, outlined that, following a meeting on May 24, the body would be offering contract-based appointments to candidates who did not present their university documents.
While the group does not have an exact figure on how many hopefuls without a teaching background had applied for the contract-based position only to be turned away, assurances by the Education Ministry on how its priority lies with teacher graduates did not ease tensions.
On Thursday, Senior Education Minister Datuk Mohd Radzi Md Jidin said placements would only be given to those from a non-educational background once the supply of certified educational graduates has been depleted.
His stance, however, has left the non-certified group confused as a condition to apply for the contract-based recruitment scheme was that candidates do not have educational certification.
“We understand that they have studied to become a teacher and we are not questioning why they are getting postings, but why they are being taken in under the contract-based recruitment scheme that was advertised for those with no educational certification?
“There will be repeated intakes for them but this scheme is meant for us since it is not held regularly and is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Syu said, calling on the ministry to be more transparent in its handling of recruitment schemes and ensuing issues.
“We know that there is a shortage of teachers, especially in rural areas, but when we ask the ministry for an accurate figure, they claim to have no exact data available.
“If that is the case, how can the minister say that we need to hire 18,702 people in the one-off scheme?” she questioned, adding that the group hopes authorities will reconsider contract-based candidates who were rejected after passing their interviews, while empowering teacher candidates with no education background.
In March, a group of teacher graduates part of the one-off recruitment scheme had cried foul over apparent flaws in the hiring drive and submitted a memorandum to Putrajaya detailing their complaints.
However, all seems to have been forgiven as the group yesterday praised the ministry for its commitment in concentrating on teacher graduates, despite having once accused the SPP of favouring candidates with no educational certification. – The Vibes, June 5, 2022
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