New mechanism to resolve problem of 'dukalara' teachers - Mahdzir

The term 'dukalara' is used by Education Minister Datuk Mahdzir Khalid to refer to teachers who are separated from their spouses because of their job location.

Mahdzir said he had instructed the Human Resource Management Division (BPSM) and the Day School Management Division (BPSH) to set up a special committee to study the present system and find a new mechanism to resolve the problem.

"In three months from now, when the study is completed, I will announce the best system and formula, I am very sympathetic with all the married teachers who have had to be separated from their spouses for years," he told reporters after presenting schooling accessories to parents of 2,200 students of 30 schools in the Padang Terap parliamentary constituency here Saturday.

He added that the BPSM and BPSH had also been instructed to categorise the criteria for the mechanism including the first category of married couples who were teachers, second category where either of the spouse was a teacher, and the third category for the duration the couple had been located separately.

He said although the present 'traffic light' system was good, it could not solve the problem of 'dukalara' teachers as it was based on vacancies for specific subject teachers in a school.

The 'traffic light' system helped teachers to find the states where they could be transferred to based on the colour of the light indicators posted in the system, with green denoting a vacancy, while red meant the position had been filled.

On schools which had been used as flood evacuation centres, Mahadzir said the District Education Office had a Term of Reference for the necessary action to be taken in case of flood.

He said the ministry had identified schools in high-risk areas especially Kedah, Perak, Kelantan, Terengganu and Sabah.

He also said that to date, only one Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examination centre, the Sekolah Menengah St Paul in Beaufort, Sabah, had to be moved to Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Beaufort due to floods. The move affected 33 students.

Meanwhile in another development, the National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP) president Hashim Adnan urged the Institute of Teacher Education (IPG) to maintain the holiday schedule for lecturers which was currently in accordance with the school holidays' calendar.