SENATOR WAKILI OKU AKAN DILANTIK

Kerajaan mencadangkan seorang calon senator daripada golongan Orang Kurang Upaya (OKU) dilantik menjadi Ahli Dewan Negara bagi menggantikan tempat Allahyarham Prof Datuk Dr Ismail Md Salleh, demikian Dewan Negara diberitahu Rabu.

Menteri Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil berkata senarai beberapa calon dari kalangan OKU akan dikemukakan kepada Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak untuk dipertimbangkan.

"Insya-Allah kita akan hantar senarai calon ini kepada Perdana Menteri dalam masa terdekat untuk pertimbangan sewajarnya," katanya ketika menjawab soalan tambahan Senator Datuk Saripah Aminah Syed Mohamed pada persidangan Dewan Negara di sini.

Saripah bertanya mengenai adakah kementerian akan mengesyorkan seorang calon daripada kalangan OKU untuk menjadi senator berikutan kematian Ismail, 61, akibat serangan jantung semasa dalam penerbangan dari China ke Singapura pada 27 Ogos lepas.

Ismail, seorang pakar ekonomi, yang cacat penglihatan semenjak 13 tahun, merupakan calon pertama OKU yang menerima ijazah Doktor Falsafah (PhD) dan mencipta sejarah sebagai Senator pertama dari kalangan OKU di negara ini.

PRINCIPALS CAN HIRE AND FIRE TEACHERS

Principals or headmasters may in future be empowered to 'hire and fire' teachers, Deputy Education Minister Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi said.

He told Dewan Rakyat this was among proposals being considered by the ministry to revolutionise the national education system.

The ministry had also created 'ba'iah baru' (new deal) to bring changes and create schools of excellence.

"Principals or headmasters who perform will be rewarded. The reward may not be in the form of promotion or pay rise but will depend on the changes made.

"They may also be enmpowered to hire and fire to determine dedicated teachers who can help bring excellence to the schools," he said when winding up debate at committee stage on the 2010 Supply Bill for the Education Ministry.

Puad said the education revolution system had created competition by introducing high performance schools and that the names of 20 such schools would be announced soon.

The assessment system would also be revamped to create schools which were not solely oriented toward examination as education was dynamic and need to change with the times.

To a question by Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur) on how the government wanted to make teaching the profession of choice, he said the ministry would not change the policy but would change its approach.

"Teachers must change their mindset by regarding teaching as a struggle to seek justice for the people."

Puad refuted a claim that some people migrated overseas as they were not happy with the national education system.