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Chief Secretary to the Government Mohd Sidek Hassan has announced that graduate teachers on grades DG41 to DG48 are allowed to play an active part in politics, effective from 1 August 2010.

Sidek, in explaining the new policy, pointed out that in the early days, teachers had played an important role as community leaders in the local political scenario, and it is time that they be given the opportunity to be involved in politics again.

Sidek said the federal government has obtained the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to amend Regulation 21 of the Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations to facilitate the implementation of the new policy.

The new policy has several far-reaching implications for the education of our children which the federal government should seriously study and evaluate before adopting and implementing it.

In the first place, allowing teachers to join political parties, which is what the new policy is all about, will render them subservient and obsequious to their parties, meaning that their neutrality and impartiality in teaching is suspect. There will certainly be the tendency, or even deliberate attempts, to indoctrinate the students under their charge.

Within the school classroom situation, a politically partisan teacher may manipulate the young innocent children into believing that his rival political parties are demonic and that the children should tell their parents about it. This is especially true in the rural areas and the urban squatter areas where many parents are illiterate and take the words of the "guru" as gospel truth.

The classroom is a powerful venue for manipulating, conditioning, and indoctrinating young minds, and a charming charismatic articulate teacher can easily mould and shape the innocent children to follow his way.

Secondly, those teachers who hold important and powerful positions in the political parties, especially those connected to the ruling coalition, may use their political clout to bully the school heads and other teachers.

Such a possibility should not be dismissed, as it well-known even in the private sector that there are employers who would flex their muscles to force their employees to support the political parties of the employers' choice.

Many years ago, I was at a briefing of one big estate when I heard the company boss telling his illiterate workers that if a certain political party loses an election, they stand to lose their bonus, or even jobs.

Thirdly, teachers who belong to the opposition parties may be victimised for their political beliefs, and allegiance to their parties. The methods of victimisation include making their life and job difficult in school, sidelining them when there are opportunities for development and further studies, depriving them of promotions, and transferring them to cause hardship to their families. This will create bitterness and poor morale among such teachers, and their work as teachers will certainly be affected, resulting in the students being short-changed.

Finally, teachers nowadays have very heavy workloads, and if they are allowed to be actively involved in politics, they may neglect their responsibilities at school.

Hence, I feel that the federal government should reconsider the decision to open the floodgate for teachers to flow into the political arena.

However, if the federal government still insists that teachers be allowed to be involved in political activities, then certain essential rules should be imposed on them:

> The teachers can be members of a political party but should not be allowed to be office-bearers of the party;

> The teachers cannot talk politics at school, especially in the classroom, and disciplinary action, including sacking, would be taken if many complaints are received from other teachers and parents; and

> The teachers cannot speak at political ceremahs in the town they are teaching, but will be allowed to do so outside the town.

Such rules should be imposed to prevent the teachers from exerting their authority, influence, and pressure on the families of their students. - MySinChew.com