KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 — The Ministry of Education (MOE) has been urged to give priority to the quality, skills and interests of candidates who will be teaching in schools throughout the country.

Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) president Adnan Mat said in a statement today, although the government was serious in resolving the shortage of teachers within a short time, the three elements should be emphasised as the challenges in the teaching world were enormous.

He said the large-scale recruitment of teachers conducted by the MOE should solve teachers’ shortages and leave the desired impact on the students.

Recently, Senior Education Minister Datuk Mohd Radzi Md Jidin announced one-off special recruitment of 18,702 teachers to overcome the shortage of educators in the country.

Adnan also called on the ministry to give priority to eligible education graduates who have yet to receive placement based on their respective subject options so that their skills and abilities can be utilised more effectively.

He said this large-scale recruitment exercise should not be continued in the future, instead, the recruitment should be done in stages according to the current vacancies.

Adnan also said he hoped that MOE would clear the applications submitted by teachers wanting to transfer to be closer to their spouses, ailing parents, or those experiencing serious health problems before giving placement to new teachers. — Bernama