School heads must be proactive in identifying teacher stress - Mahdzir Khalid

He said it was necessary to ensure that early counselling assistance could be given to these teachers, thereby preventing them from acting aggressively and ultimately endangering the lives of students.

"If teachers are distressed they need to be kept away from students and at the same time given counselling assistance," he told reporters after the opening ceremony of the Bumiputera Education Roadshow at the Padang Terap Parliamentary constituency in Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Dato Syed Ahmad here today.

Mahdzir recounted an incident where a Year Two pupil suffered a head injury and received eight stitches after being hit by a wooden chair thrown by a teacher at a school in Penampang, Sabah yesterday.

However, he said if the principal or headmaster himself was the cause of stress, teachers could report to the district education office or state education director.

Meanwhile, the Bumiputera Education Tour launched on March 11 has given a second chance to students who wished to further their education but did not get places at higher learning institutions .

"To date, the programme has helped more than 50,000 students nationwide who had previously failed to get places at institutions of higher learning to continue their studies.

"Through the programme, qualified students will be reassessed and given a place in public or private universities to pursue an academic or skills diploma," he said.

The tour will be in Penang tomorrow and in Perak on April 26.