PETALING JAYA: Following a teacher’s complaints about the current school syllabus that had gone viral recently, the Education Ministry is now working on simplifying it.

Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin said the current syllabus development process is too long, taking three years to complete.

By that time, he said the syllabus that is completed could be outdated.

“We want to simplify this process so that anything new can be immediately incorporated into the syllabus,” he said in a live telecast on Astro Awani last night.

Radzi was responding to claims by primary school mathematics teacher Mohd Fadli Mohamed Salleh who raised issues on heavy school bags, and students having to deal with too many subjects.

Radzi said the current KSSR (Primary School Standard Curriculum) syllabus is also under review now that it has completed its cycle.

The cycle, he added, comes to an end when Year One pupils in 2017 had completed Year Six in 2022.

He said the ministry is aware of the complaints from parents and the public that the current syllabus is too heavy and complex, and are taking these into consideration in the review.

He also said that when the KSSR syllabus was formulated in 2014, it did not involve as much discussions and engagements with the public compared to this time around.

On the heavy school bags issue, Radzi said the ministry has been working on installing lockers in primary schools with two sessions.

To date, he said about 40% of the first phase of locker installations has been completed.

On Tuesday, Mohd Fadli who is based in Gombak, Selangor, had said restricting teachers from voicing their opinion is detrimental to the education system and students.

The primary school teacher, who claimed he had been cleared of wrongdoing following his criticism on several education issues, said the ministry should be open to feedback and constructive criticism.

“Those who know best – whether or not education policies work – are teachers. They are qualified to give their views because they are the ones who administer these rulings.

“Preventing teachers from giving any constructive feedback will negatively impact our education system and students,” he said in a Facebook Live video on Tuesday.

Mohd Fadli had also revealed on his Facebook page last Saturday that he would be fired or demoted for voicing his views on the learning syllabus that he considered was of too high a level and inappropriate for students.

The ministry had issued a letter saying Mohd Fadli may face action for not going through the proper channels in voicing his dissatisfaction.

Malaysians have shared their views on the issue with some calling on the teacher to adhere to protocol while others defended his right to speak up.

On Oct 18, Radzi told critics not to capitalise on the alleged shortcomings raised by the teacher.

He also said that he would not interfere with the education services disciplinary board’s decision.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2022/10/20/education-ministry-now-working-on-simplifying-school-syllabus