KUCHING: The Sarawak Bumiputera Teachers Union (KGBS) has welcomed and expressed support for the abolition of the Ministry of Education’s Training Management System (SPLKPM), describing it as misaligned with the realities of teachers’ actual duties in schools.
President Zulkiflee Sebli said the SPLKPM had previously added to teachers’ non-teaching workload, particularly in terms of reporting and documentation requirements, even though teachers are already actively involved in training programmes, courses, professional learning communities (PLC) and continuous professional development.
“The abolition of the SPLKPM will only be meaningful if it is not replaced by another system in a different form that ultimately maintains or increases teachers’ existing workload, even if it comes under a different name or approach,” he told Sarawak Tribune on Monday (Dec 22).
Zulkiflee noted that in the context of teachers’ professional development, KGBS proposes a more flexible, trust-based approach by recognising existing school-level training without the need for burdensome individual reporting systems.
He also stressed that the abolition of the SPLKPM would not affect teachers’ preparedness to face the implementation of a new curriculum and the national education development plan.
On the contrary, he said, it would allow teachers to focus more on quality teaching and genuine competency enhancement.
“KGBS believes that teachers will be able to concentrate more on the core of their profession – educating and ensuring meaningful learning for students.”
KGBS expressed its readiness to provide input and cooperate with the Ministry of Education Malaysia in formulating more realistic and effective mechanisms to support teachers’ professional development, taking into account the actual school context, particularly in Sarawak.
Zulkiflee stressed that teachers’ well-being and the quality of education must remain the top priorities in every education policy.
