KUCHING: The Sarawak Bumiputera Teachers’ Union (KGBS) has urged the Education Ministry to review its teacher compliance pledge under the new Student Protection Policy to prevent excessive responsibility and liability from falling on individual teachers.
KGBS said teachers must not feel personally exposed to disciplinary action or allegations simply for carrying out their duties in accordance with official regulations and directives.
The union was responding to Education Ministry Circular No. 4 of 2026, dated Jul 1, on the implementation of the Student Protection Policy in schools under the ministry.
While supporting the policy, KGBS said the requirement for teachers to sign a pledge of compliance needed further scrutiny to ensure it did not give the impression that student protection responsibilities and liabilities rested solely on individual teachers.
“Teachers need clear guidelines, proper operating procedures and institutional protection in carrying out their professional responsibilities,” it said in a statement today.
KGBS said teachers should not be placed under pressure or become overly cautious in their interactions with students to the extent that it affected professional relationships, teaching and learning, and their ability to perform their duties.
It stressed that student safety and teacher welfare should be addressed as part of the same protection system.
The union said strengthening student protection should be accompanied by adequate training, awareness, reporting procedures, intervention mechanisms and management support, rather than relying solely on an individual pledge.
KGBS also welcomed the Education Ministry’s plan to engage teachers’ unions on the matter, saying the Director General of Education Malaysia had informed union representatives during a special session involving state education departments, district education offices and teachers’ unions last week.
The planned engagement, it said, would provide an important platform for teachers’ unions to seek clarification and raise concerns over aspects of the policy that remained unclear.
KGBS hoped the engagement would be conducted openly and constructively, taking into account the realities of teachers’ duties and challenges in protecting students.
The union also called for any confusion over the implementation of the circular to be resolved through official channels and consultation, rather than differing interpretations at individual schools.
KGBS said it remained committed to working with the ministry to strengthen student protection while ensuring teachers’ rights, welfare, safety and professional protection were not overlooked.
It said a truly safe school should protect students without neglecting teachers and should have a system that was clear, fair and accountable to all parties.
