15 hours ago
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Over 5,500 teachers retired early annually from 2022 to 2024, with most citing loss of interest
KUALA LUMPUR: An average of 5,594 teachers a year opted for early retirement between 2022 and 2024, the Dewan Rakyat heard today.
Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh said more than half of them (67.44 per cent) cited a loss of interest.
"In 2022, a total of 5,306 teachers were approved for retirement, followed by 6,394 in 2023 and 5,082 in 2024, representing 1.17 per cent of the Education Ministry's total workforce, and 2,397 as of May 2025," he said in response to a question from Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (PN–Masjid Tanah).
Wong said other reasons cited for early retirement were family issues (17.43 per cent), health problems (7.69 per cent), workload (5.37 per cent) and personal issues (2.08 per cent).
He said the ministry remains committed to addressing the teacher shortage while safeguarding the well-being of educators.
Wong said permanent teacher recruitment exercises were conducted twice a year, while the Education Service Commission kept its teacher application system open year-round to expedite recruitment and placement.
"The ministry has enhanced school management functions through the introduction of the School Governance Module (MySG) since 2021.
"It has also developed Job Description (JD) documents since 2016, clarifying specific accountabilities to help teachers carry out their duties more effectively.
"In addition, we have adopted a holistic and progressive approach to keeping teachers motivated through the 7-Step Teacher Well-being Initiative, which focuses on pedagogy, assessments, school operations, examination evaluation, and school management and administration," he said.
Wong said a survey conducted in December 2024 across 1,007 schools nationwide found the 7-Step Teacher Well-being Initiative to be effective.
He said the ministry also leveraged technology through the implementation of the MOE Integrated System (MOEIS) and the Identity Management System (idMe), which integrated data across multiple systems.
"This helps reduce repetitive data entry and teachers' clerical workload. In addition, the DELIMa platform provides AI applications, digital teaching and learning materials, and coaching to support teachers' tasks more effectively and creatively," he said.
