Teachers under 'extreme stress' need counselling - Kamalanathan

Deputy minister Datuk P. Kamalanathan said the move was to prevent any untoward incident involving teachers.

"We have 450,000 teachers in Malaysia and most of them are ''exemplary teachers'' and very responsible.

"However, there are some troubled teachers undergoing depression and stress and we provide a lot of avenues to help them.

"Last year, about 200 teachers underwent counselling, including two per cent who were instructed to do so," he told reporters after launching the Malaysian Education Ministry's 2017 Education Tour here today.

Kamalanathan was asked to comment on an incident where a Year Two pupil sustained a head injury after being hit by a wooden chair thrown by a teacher at a school in Penampang, Sabah, two days ago.

"Obviously, we do not want a recurrence of something like that. If you (the teachers) have a problem, it is important for you to talk to someone," he said.

On the participation of school children in triad activities in Selangor, he said the ministry would wait for the police to complete their investigations before taking appropriate action.

On the mininistry's 2017 Education Tour, he said the programme aimed at providing information to the public about the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 and its achievements to date.