2007 06: 22 sackings from 200 disciplinary cases

The Star online. News. Parliament. Friday June 29, 2007

TWO hundred disciplinary cases were filed against teachers from January to May this year, Deputy Education Minister Datuk Noh Omar said.

He said of the 200, the ministry investigated and settled some of the cases, in which 22 teachers were sacked.

“Others include 17 teachers who had their salaries deducted, 17 others lost their emoluments, 10 received warnings, five cases were settled through the administration process, four teachers were freed, two were demoted and one had his increment held back,” he said in reply to a supplementary question by Datuk Mat Yasir Ikhsan (BN – Sabak Bernam).

Noh said the most serious problem among the teachers was absence from work (37%), followed by sexual harassment (17%), corruption (15%), dishonest behaviour and insubordination (10%), drug abuse (9.5%), syariah criminal cases (7%), theft (6%) and incurring debts (1%).

Earlier, replying to Mat Yasir’s original question, he said the ministry’s human resources department’s counselling and integrity branch took the 3P programme approach (development, prevention and rehabilitation) to rehabilitate the teachers.

He said the development programme aimed at improving the work attitude of the officers and staff through increasing their knowledge and enhancing their career opportunities.

“The preventive programme is to help the ministry maintain its human capital by increasing the teachers’ skills and knowledge.

“The rehabilitation programme is to help them to improve themselves and help those who have personal or psychological problems,” said Noh.

He also said that up to April 30 this year, 88 staff and officers of the ministry had been referred to the counselling branch.

“The counselling sessions will enable them to orientate themselves and get back to the organisation’s system,” he said.