Teacher Absenteeism has profound effects upon students
A cause of the poverty cycle
Teacher absenteeism is the least acknowledged issue within the governmental school system, yet most probably has the most profound negative effects upon students.
A recent court case in Kota Kinabalu is highlighting the issue of teacher truancy in government schools across the country. This landmark case, which involved three students and their former teacher, Jainal Jamran, who was assigned to teach English for three hours a week, but had been absent from class for seven months is indicative that many students are not obtaining the necessary face to face class time with their teachers to progress through their education.
This problem is more widespread than most believe, where records are difficult to obtain, so the real extent of this problem cant be measured. Teacher absenteeism cases in Malaysia have not been reported for over 14 years according to the Sabah NGO Tiada Guru. An OECD report from 2009 indicated that 19.5 percent of school principals had reported teacher absenteeism.
Much of the inability to expose the extent of this problem is the result of deliberate cover ups among staff, the falsification of records, and nepotism. There is a culture of fear that prevents school students reporting teacher absenteeism, due to the massively unequal power distance between students and teachers in Malaysia. Perhaps the most telling statistic is that between 2010 and 2017, 55.4 percent of disciplinary cases heard by the Ministry of Education involved teacher absence from duty.
Teacher absenteeism is just as much a problem in schools as curriculum, pedagogy, and class size issues. This puts students who must perform well in exams to gain a tertiary qualification at a great disadvantage. This tends to keep families trapped in the low-income social strata of society. A diploma holder earns 1.4 times more income than someone with only SPM, while a degree holder earns 2.3 times more.
This prevents students from learning English in a systematic manner, which is a compulsory subject to get to university level.
Tiada Guru argues that this is directly related to the self-esteem and self-confidence of students. This is an important characteristic that employees look for in employing potential staff. Consequently, teacher absenteeism can have a decades long impact on children’s ability to reach full potential during their respective careers.
According to Tiada Guru, teacher absenteeism can lead to mental health issues, loss of trust in adults, and a loss of hope for the future. Teacher absenteeism can lead to truancy on the on the part of students who have given up hope, often leading to drug abuse, petty crime, and unwanted pregnancies.
From a national perspective, this leads to a grave degrading in the quality of the workforce, in the coming generation.
Teacher absenteeism is a symptom of dissatisfaction within elements of the teaching profession. Many have low motivation levels. Others are just not suited for the profession. Some others use the time dishonestly to undertake other income earning activities.
Teacher motivation is an issue the MOE must look closely at.
Teacher absenteeism has been kept a secret at school level, away from the MOE to protect reputations.
The school management culture is to engage in cover-ups, with staff problems kept “inhouse”, outside the ministry disciplinary system. Unfortunately, much more than teacher absenteeism is also covered up. This includes theft, rape, and molestation.
Former deputy chief (prevention) Shamshun Jamil of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) was reported as saying only 0.01% of the nation’s civil servants are brave enough to report corrupt practices to authorities. Having heard the stories of intimidation which were revealed in the Kota Kinabalu sessions court, this is very understandable.
Teacher absenteeism is a major impediment on education standards. Disciplinary rules are not being enforced to prevent this. The solution is there but not utilised.
This issue deeply affects the standard of school education in Malaysia and must be tackled head on. One absent teacher affects up to 50 students.
It must be solved before any other reforms are even thought about.
Originally published in My Sin Chew 29th September 2023
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The problem of teacher absenteeism in school has its genesis from the birth of a child progress to how the parents spend times with the new arrival, the home environment and the mental stimuli the child is exposed to the teacher education experience in school and how the parents build relationship with the child. A real understanding of how the child’s emotional make up and mental capacity to learn and interpret social action and react to the both positive and negative interaction to others, can have profound effects on the constituents of the child in adult life.
The problem of teacher absenteeism all has a root cause as fully explained in Hugh Missildine’s book, “ The inner child of the past” . Related to teacher absenteeism similar antisocial behavior also manifest this character and behavior defects in other profession. The absenteeism of teacher, the life work of Mahathir and his public and open expression, Najib’s and other personalities disorder of public officials whether in Zaki Naik,Donald Trump,Hilter or Idi Amin all can be easily understood by reading this revealing book on human behavior or misbehavior, “ The inner child of the past”.
The challenges and dilemma of trying to overcome this education disorder are both difficult and time consuming. All the rules attempting to solve the problem which has profound negative effects on the work force on the future cannot be enforced to see positive outcome. Just as impossible to dilute the sea water by pouring rain water into the ocean to remove the saltiness of the sea water.
A better way is to deliberately taking preventive steps to deny the negative conducts from infecting the child to begin with. The wisdom of this application is gained from the ancient wisdom of the words of the wise men.
Plan for what is difficult, while it is easy, do what is great while it is small.
Sun Tzu
Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.
Lao Tzu
It is pointless to fight the corrupt system, but more effective and satisfying to build on the positive.
As is said by Socrates : The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.
Let’s look at the miracle of prenatal investment. The life of Elon Musk.
He said, “ I was raised by books. Books, and then my parents.”
He reportedly read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica at age nine and would pore over science fiction novels, comics and nonfiction books for up to 10 hours a day.
How can a child be guided to have a passion for book and be a self learner, while another child of the same age is obsessed with destructive occupations like video games, purposeless loitering, social media surfing and endless eating of junk food?
The significant difference is the secret of prenatal investment starting from the class-room of the womb. An unborn child’s brain cells once have been stimulated by a source a certain impression can never return to its original dimension.
The brain( mind) is very happy when you are focused on what you love. The more you focus on what you truly love and desire, the volume get turned down in those parts of the limbic system where the destructive emotions such as fear ,anger, depression & anxiety are controlled. This allow you to think clearly. You also turn up the volume in other parts of the limbic system that generates positive emotions. When this happens, you get a release of dopamine, endorphin and a variety of stress reducing hormones and neuron-transmitters. The more you focus on what you truly love, the healthier you are likely to be, and the more you will feel the positive effects of those stress reducing neuro chemical in your body and mind.
(Dr Andrew Newberg & Mark Waldman neuroscientist university of Pennsylvania’s center for spirituality and mind-born to believe book)
A love for books in the case of Elon Musk or the passion for music in another is a deliberate act by the parents to decide the destiny of the child after birth.
To kill the fire of teacher absenteeism the wisdom is to prevent it from spreading by focusing on the unborn while at the same time, prequalify potential candidates who wish to enter the teaching profession. Invest in teaching the art and science of prenatal investment for nation building.
Recall Albert Einstein’s advice, “ The insanity of doing the same thing, over and over again and expect a different result.”
All truth passes through 3 stages. First it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. (Arthur Schopenhauer Feb 22, 1788-Sept 21 1860)
Without a new passion by the government to mobilize all the nation’s resources to pursue prenatal investment for nation building, we are doomed to become a failed state.
Excessive public holidays don't help none neither.
Half the time the teachers are absent, half the time it's public holidays. 50% + 50% = 115%.
It all adds up to a bankrupt educational system with polished black shoes on.