18 February 2020

UEC holders barred from Teacher Training Programme / Civil Servant route?

Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching should come out and justify the government’s reasoning, and whether she is in accord or against the current state of the Program Ijazah Sarjana Muda Perguruan for UEC (PISMP-UEC).

The PISMP-UEC was the only route for UEC holders seeking to become a civil servant by becoming teachers. With there being no recruitment for Chinese language teachers this year, UEC students are effectively side-lined. Thus, can the Chinese community continue to invest their hopes on UEC ever being recognised?

This initiative from 2011, in its current revision was found to have omitted recruitment details, implicating that the programme was axed. In other words, it is a step backwards from UEC recognition by abolishing BN’s effort on improving their welfare.

MCA in June 2010 announced that the Education Ministry would accept UEC holders in its teachers’ training programme, where those who completed the course would be certified as Chinese language teachers. This was just one of the prerequisites for BN to recognise UEC eventually. Yet, with PH in power, they appear to be unsupportive of this UEC-centric programme, a stark difference from their election promises.

They hollered, “UEC recognition when we are in power”, yet there is hardly any substantial progress; instead, the axed programme shows that UEC students’ existing welfare is also in jeopardy. What picture does this paint for UEC ever being recognised?

On a related note, what about the long-awaited report from the UEC task-force? When will it be done?

Ng Sing Phing

MCA National Youth Education Consultative Committee Chairperson

-MCA Online-