The 'co-teaching' model: A burden on Malaysian education?

Although expected to improve the quality of learning and classroom management, this model faces many concerns about human resources and feasibility.

According to the plan of the Malaysian Ministry of Education , the “co-teaching” model with two teachers in charge of the same class will be implemented in public schools from 2027. The goal stated by the Ministry is to increase the attractiveness of lessons, personalize teaching and ensure that every student receives the necessary attention.

According to the official announcement posted on Facebook by the Ministry on November 6, the initiative will initially apply to students in grades 1-3. The teaching community has given different perspectives on this plan. The National Union of Teachers (NUT) assessed this as a positive signal, showing that the Ministry has listened to the need for teaching assistants in the classroom.

However, the biggest concern is that Malaysian schools do not have enough teachers to implement the model. In recent years, the number of teachers in Malaysia has been on a clear downward trend. Many young people do not want to take the teacher training exam while a large number of teachers quit the profession or retire early. Therefore, to meet the demand of 2 teachers teaching at the same time poses a big problem of human resources.

“The teacher shortage has been going on for many years. About 10 years ago, many schools had to call in people without teaching qualifications to work as temporary teachers,” said parent Koay Joo Bee, who manages three education support groups with about 60,000 members.

From the perspective of education management, Mr. Mah Hang Soon, Vice President of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), noted: “The Ministry of Education reported in Parliament in August that more than 19,000 primary and secondary school teachers opted for early retirement, with nearly 70% of them citing loss of interest in the profession as the reason. With such a number of teachers leaving the profession, maintaining adequate staffing to ensure two teachers per class will be a big challenge.”

In addition, the quality of teachers is also a concern. Each teacher will have a different teaching method, so the question of how two people can coordinate smoothly to develop lessons is also a big question. Teachers today need to be trained to manage the above models.

In the face of controversy, many experts and community representatives have called on the Ministry of Education to be more transparent in its implementation roadmap. For example, there should be a controlled pilot, a set of success indicators, a plan for training and recruiting teaching assistants, and a clear budget allocation mechanism. Without careful preparation, a good idea can become a burden on an education system that is already facing many pressures.

“Having two teachers in the same class can help students concentrate better and does not necessarily require hiring too many additional staff. However, this model will require adjustments in the division of work, appropriate retraining and may increase the amount of lesson preparation as the two teachers have to coordinate well with each other,” commented Mr. Fouzi Singon - General Secretary of NUT.

According to The Straits Times

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/mo-hinh-dong-giang-day-ganh-nang-cho-giao-duc-malaysia-post756446.html