A popular figure among education and parenting circles locally, mathematics teacher Mr Mohd Fadli Salleh is perhaps most well-known for using his social media platform to shed light on a number of concerns and challenges he and his students have encountered from the public school system, in hopes of sparking discussion and change among Malaysians.
Local mathematics teacher facing demotion or dismissal for raising issues in schools
However, he recently took to sharing how as a consequence of doing so, he may now potentially be facing demotion or worse still, dismissal from the Ministry of Education. This came after Fadli was served with a letter stating that disciplinary action may be taken against him over a number of allegations that he has made against the Ministry.
The letter also states that as a civil servant, Fadli was not permitted to make any comment regarding the weakness of any plans, policies, or decisions undertaken by the government, as per Regulation 37 of the Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) 1993. Given the circumstances, he was instructed to respond with a written representation with supporting evidence against the charge within 21 days of the date of receipt.
Pointing out that he only ever had the best interest of his students at heart, Fadli was dismayed that his advocacy for improvement in the education system has been rebuked with the likelihood of demotion or unemployment. He further went on to stress that he has previously attempted to raise a number of these issues through the proper channels, but they failed to result in any tangible changes in spite of it all.
Has previously been critical of the local syllabus & education system
Among some of the concerns that Fadli has spoken at length on include:
- Increasingly heavy schoolbags that may be detrimental to the health and wellbeing of young children
- A school syllabus that is far too dense and above the level of the average student
- Too many students in one classroom
- Students required to study too many subjects
- Insufficient learning time for school subjects, especially mathematics
- ‘Little Napoleons’ who are damaging the education system from within
Resigned to his circumstances, he said that he is willing to put his career on the line and fight to the end if necessary, in order to trigger real change. And to prove his commitment to his work, Fadli had also uploaded a screenshot showing the results from his recent workplace assessment, which indicated that he obtained a score of 98.11% overall.
His post, which has since gone viral, has been met with the support of not just parents, but fellow teachers within the education system as well.
“Thank you Teacher Fadli for always being brave enough to speak up on behalf of us parents, teachers, and students.”
“These problems have been inflamed in the system. It’s time to change. Not being allowed to comment on any plans and the system that the government has implemented? Wow. How is the country supposed to progress?”
“The battle is real, that’s how I’m speaking. Whatever the case is, keep fighting for the truth!”
Since his post had gone viral, Fadli said that Senior Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin has since reached out and hoped to speak with him over the issue.
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Also read: M’sian teacher raises alarm over primary students carrying schoolbags as heavy as 8 kilos to class
