Two academics have cautioned that the recruitment of 20,000 new teachers to meet the anticipated rise in student enrolment next year should prioritise quality and specialisation, not just numbers.
While welcoming the Education Ministry’s plan to increase teacher recruitment, Universiti Putra Malaysia academic Wan Marzuki Wan Jaafar said the main challenge today is not merely having enough teachers, but ensuring they are competent and adaptable to the changing education landscape.
“What we need are teachers who are skilled, flexible and prepared to educate a post-pandemic generation that thinks, learns and interacts differently,” he told FMT, adding that teaching strategies must be planned holistically.
Wan Marzuki said the placement of new teachers should be based on factors such as student density, class numbers, population mobility and special needs requirements, rather than being applied uniformly.
He suggested several strategies, including teacher placement according to specialisation — such as early literacy, digital pedagogy and inclusive education — as well as continuous retraining programmes.
“There should also be closer collaboration with universities to ensure that teacher training before entry into the profession aligns with the actual needs of schools,” he said.
Last week, the ministry announced plans to recruit 20,000 contract teachers at DG9 grade to meet demand, in preparation for the intake of six-year-old pupils into Year 1 for the 2027 academic session.
The announcement followed concerns that the optional new policy could result in shortages of teachers and classrooms.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced the intake of six-year-old Year 1 pupils during the launch of the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2026–2035 on Jan 20.
Wan Marzuki added that needs-based teacher placement could help narrow disparities between urban and rural schools, while ensuring fairer and more effective distribution of human resources.
He also said the use of hybrid learning technologies could help ease the burden of large class sizes without compromising learning quality.
Meanwhile, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia academic Effendi @ Ewan Matore said the ministry must strengthen ongoing monitoring of student enrolment trends to improve projections of teacher demand.
“This should be supported by effective classroom practices, optimised use of space and differentiated learning approaches, allowing teachers to adapt to students’ individual abilities,” he said.
Effendi added that teacher recruitment data must be better coordinated to ensure educators are hired according to their areas of expertise and to prevent an oversupply in non-critical fields.
He also suggested expanding the role of teaching assistants to handle administrative tasks such as record-keeping, attendance tracking and student welfare.
“This would allow teachers to focus more on classroom engagement and deliver deeper, more meaningful learning,” he said.
