LIEW MIAW YIENG EDU 3093i Section B Academic Writing PISMP BI SJK (c) 2

1.0 Introduction

In this era of globalisation, the teaching profession has drastically changed by leaps
and bounds. Traditional chalk and talk method is no longer applicable in the 21st century.
These days, teachers need to equip themselves with the latest teaching methods, knowledge
and skills. The expectations from the ministry and parents are rather high. To exemplify,
teacher are required to practice 21st century teaching styles which students are given the
freedom to discover and learn in the classroom. Teachers are overburden with excessive
workload that contributes to stress and pressure. The job of teachers are no longer like
before. The job scope of teachers are no longer teaching per se, administrative work, taking
care of students’ welfare, facilitate in extra co-curricular activities, organise competitions,
attend meetings, seminars, workshops are all included in teachers’ workload.

2.0 Summary of newspaper excerpt

According to Free Malaysia Today on 14th April 2016, it stated that many teachers are
feeling overwhelmed by the extra burden that put teachers under a lot of stress. These
days, teachers not only have to teach in the classroom, other responsibilities, including
including carrying out administrative and even “parenting” duties and, more shockingly,
forking out their own money for students’ extracurricular activities (Free Malayia Today
Online, 2016). Teaching unions and groups have regularly expressed their grievances
over the increasing workloads of educators. Even Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid
Hamidi raised this issue recently when he highlighted the need for teachers to focus more
on their academic duties and enhancing spiritual values. He said teachers should not be
burdened with administrative work but should, instead, be empowered to produce
students who were not only educated, but also had high moral values.

One of the teachers mentioned that each time there is a change in education policy
or system, teachers will have extra administrative work to complete. For example,
teachers have to repeatedly key-in students’ data each time a new online system is
introduced. Similarly, when a new education system is introduced, like the School Based
Assessment for primary school (introduced in 2011), teachers have so many things to look
into and it seem as in the efforts of teachers have put into are wasted. Another teacher
from Klang also mentioned that teachers used up their free time in the school doing the
“same old clerical work” and often did not have time to prepare their lesson. “Since we
don’t have enough time in school, we have to prepare our lessons at home, which deprives
LIEW MIAW YIENG EDU 3093i Section B Academic Writing PISMP BI SJK (c) 2

us of spending quality time with our families. I’m not complaining but then, we teachers
are also humans and we also need time for ourselves,” she told Bernama. In expressing
their grievances, teachers were not questioning their duties, but merely hoping the
authorities could find a solution to their woes, she stressed.

In addition, National Union of Teaching Profession President Hashim Adnan said

the issue of teachers being burdened with administrative chores was nothing new and
although various studies and discussions had been carried out in the past, no solutions
had materialised. When no action is being taken to relieve the burden of teachers, they
feel demoralised and can’t carry out their actual duty in a dedicated manner. “Raising their
salary scales doesn’t mean that they have to do administrative work as well because all
that extra workload is too much for them to bear, both physically and mentally,” he said.

Apart from that, Universiti Malaya lecturer Asso Prof Muhammad Faizal A Ghani
said heavy workloads could demotivate teachers and prevent them from providing their
best service. He said since heavy workloads could impair their commitment to teach,
teachers should learn to handle their varied duties capably, as well as be able to bear the
stress. “Studies have shown that this issue (of heavy workloads) can affect a teacher’s
competency level, as well as his or her family life. “For example, many of the professional
training programmes that they have to attend are conducted during the weekends, which
give them little time to spend with their families”. He said in striving to enhance the quality
of education, it was important to encourage collaboration among government agencies,
schools, teachers and parents to ensure the smooth implementation of the teaching and
learning process in schools.“ If there’s anything parents can do to improve a school’s
education standards, they should come forward to help. “For example, if they have
expertise in certain fields, then they can give the school some moral support in terms of
their expertise and energy. If such cooperation is more prevalent, it can enhance the
overall quality of our nation’s education system,” he said.

3.0 Discussion on the issue concerned and challenges faced.

Undeniably, overwhelming workload of teachers is the main factor of stress. It is

indeed a challenge for teachers as it affects teachers’ performance in the school.
Overwhelming workload will cause teacher to unable to focus on what an educator supposed
to do – teach. For instance, teachers will not have enough time to prepare conducive lesson
plans and teaching aids for their students. In the other words, students’ needs are neglected.
This will directly affect students’ performance in academic, which will again, causes more
LIEW MIAW YIENG EDU 3093i Section B Academic Writing PISMP BI SJK (c) 2

stress to teachers because students’ level are not up to par. Additionally, administration work
is a burden for teachers as the work seems easy but actually time consuming for teachers to
prepare the unnecessary paperwork. Teachers in the school are using their free time doing
administration work rather than focusing on their teaching. This is a sad and ugly truth.

Teachers’ increasingly complex and challenging duties causes stress (Azita, 2012). A
task which was before a mere responsibility now becomes a workload. This surely is a
discomfort for teachers and being forced to accomplish the task will result in dissatisfaction.
Other than the increasing workload, teachers also lack sufficient rest. Most of the schools hold
activities on Saturdays such as extra classes, sports practice, class cleanliness, club and
society activities. These include activities with the administrator such as the In Service Training
or also known as “Latihan Dalam Perkhidmatan” (LDP) where the school counseling service
invites speakers to talk about various issues which are usually done on Saturdays too. This
resulted in teachers feeling that the side duties contributed to the increasing workload.

Apart from that, teachers have to spend an amount of time to do administration work.
Teachers have been burdened by too many non-teaching duties. (Yesuiah, 2014). This
includes the amount of clerical work that teachers have to do on a daily basis. Apart from
teaching, teachers also have to conduct programmes and work on documentation (Muniandy,
2016). If there are upcoming competitions at zone and district levels, teachers will have to
prepare their students for the event too. Teachers have many roles to play. They are the
caretakers, babysitters, educators, disciplinarians and counsellors. In addition to that,
teachers will have to put up with over-protective parents who confront teachers when teachers
reprimand their children. To spare the rod and spoil the child is not acceptable. Teachers may
seem to complain but that is because teachers are at times helpless and frustrated. However,
that does not mean that teachers are not doing their job. In fact, many teachers take their work
home such as to mark books and exam papers as well as to prepare the lesson plan and
teaching aids. It is an unfair statement when comments are made that teachers should stop
griping since teacher only work half a day. After school, teachers have to supervise if not
organise co-curricular activities and attend meetings. Apart from carrying out non-teaching
chores, teachers have to make sure lesson plan is in place for the following day. Teachers are
over burden with exhaustive routine that leads to stress. Many teachers seem to burnout as
the job saps teachers’ energy, enthusiasm and passion. For some serious cases, some
teachers resort to seek psychiatric treatment as they can’t cope with the work stress. There
are cases where teachers opt for early retirement due to health reasons.
LIEW MIAW YIENG EDU 3093i Section B Academic Writing PISMP BI SJK (c) 2

4.0 Strategies in coping with stress

An obvious strategy to assist current teachers to cope with their stress is to of course,
reduce their overwhelming workload. This can be done through providing teachers with more
teaching assistants. Day in and day out, with overwhelming workshop, teachers are pushed
beyond their limits and this will greatly cause deterioration in their performance in school, and
eventually they will be worn out. To help with this situation, the Ministry of Education took an
initiative called “Repositioning of Teachers’ Core Duties” that is aimed at easing a teacher’s
work burden. Last October, Education Minister Mahdzir Khalid had said that the initiative was
being implemented in the form of pilot projects in Malacca and Kedah, whereby teaching
assistants and computer technicians would be placed in schools to lessen the administrative
and technical workloads of teachers. Through this, teachers will be able to shift their focus on
their main duty, which is teaching, and not administrative duties.

Apart from that, despite overwhelming workload, the way teachers use to cope with
the workload is also critical. Teachers have to learn to leave their work at school
(Advancement of Mental Health Practices in Schools , 2012). It is a realistic fact that a
teacher’s work will never be done up until the day he or she retires. Hence, if teachers are
able to stop thinking about their work after school hours, they would be able to unwind at home
and spend time with their families. This appears to be one of the most effective strategy in
reducing stress of teachers because they are able to achieve a fair balance between work and
personal life.

Besides that, it is important for teachers to arrive at school early. Logically, having to
rush through work will definitely increase the stress of any human being, what more to say
teachers? By arriving thirty minutes early before the time to report can bring along important
benefits. (Wilson, 2014) This thirty minutes can be used wisely to plan and co-ordinate oneself
on the preparations and materials for the day. Then, throughout the day, teachers will be able
to perform accordingly and orderly without any sudden hiccups or last minute work. The main
aim is to be ready and focused for the students. Hence, arriving at school early is an effective
strategy in reducing teachers’ stress.

5.0 Closing

To sum up, overwhelming workload of teachers have detrimental effects on teachers

and students. Responsible parties need to step up to lessen the burden of teachers. Teachers
are not robots who can work without having time for themselves and their families. Teachers
should be treated with respect as they are the front line in imparting the necessary knowledge
and skills, shaping students’ behaviour, and deliver quality education that all Malaysian
children deserved. This is in accordance with the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2015,
LIEW MIAW YIENG EDU 3093i Section B Academic Writing PISMP BI SJK (c) 2

which stated that the goal of our education system is to equip our students holistically to allow
them to succeed in the 21st century, with all the opportunities and challenges that this new era
presents (Ministry of Education of Malaysia, 2012)

6.0 References

Advancement of Mental Health Practices in Schools . (2012). Retrieved from Coping with
Teacher Burnout:
http://www.schoolmentalhealth.org/Resources/Educ/CAMHPS/Coping%20with%20te
acher%20burnout.pdf

Azita, A. R. (2012). Secondary School Teachers' Workload in Batu Pahat, Johor Darul
Takzim. Master's Thesis, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai Johor.

Free Malayia Today Online. (2016, April 14). Retrieved from No Solution in Sight yet for
Teachers' Grouses :
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2016/04/14/no-solution-in-sight-
yet-for-teachers-grouses/

Ministry of Education of Malaysia. (2012, September). Retrieved from Malaysia Education

Blurprint 2013-2025: http://www.moe.gov.my/userfiles/file/PPP/Preliminary-Blueprint-
Eng.pdf

Muniandy, S. (2016, March 27). The Star Online. Retrieved from Stress and Demands of
Teaching : http://www.thestar.com.my/news/education/2016/03/27/stress-and-
demands-of-teaching/

Wilson, C. (2014). Education World. Retrieved from Avoiding Teacher Burnout: Five
Strategies: http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/teacher-stress-burnout-
preventing.shtml

Yesuiah, S. (2014, December 2). Teachers doing more clerical work. Retrieved from The
Star Online: http://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/letters/2014/12/02/teachers-doing-
more-clerical-work/