Teachers misusing grants for improving English

From The New Straits Times Online...3rd September....death knoll for BISP??? BISP is this extra 'allowance' for Math, Science and English teachers capped at 5% for grads' and 10% of the non-grads' basic salary.

Reason given: Many teachers have abused this reimbursement programme. I wonder how the Deputy Minister of MOE knows. The BISP is paid out as a part of our salary...how is the Deputy Minister to know how each teacher spends it. I am sure majority of the teachers buy books or subscribe to newspapers. That surely would count as an effort to upgrade their English!

Anyway, if this is the precursor to this allowance being 'tarik balik', then they might as well just state that the time is up....no need to say there is abuse. In any programmes, there are always bound to be abuses. If one were to take a closer scrutiny of the PPSMI (teaching of Math & Science in English), there are plenty of these as well.

After all, if memory serves me right, this BISP thing was supposed to be up till 2008 when one cycle of Math & Science in English would have been completed! And 2008 is coming to an end. If it's time to take it away, then do it. Anyway, the BISP has also caused much dissatisfaction among teachers. And this is not to say that I don't want the extra payment. Any extra is very useful at times like this when everything costs more.

Plus there is this call to review this PPSMI thing after this year's UPSR results are released...whether or not they are going to ''gostan" and revert to BM as the medium of instruction! Dunno whether this is another political ploy to garner support.... the edu system should not be turned into pawns for their political mileage...