By NNN-Bernama,
Kuala Lumpur : The International Conference on Teacher Education in the Muslim World (ICTEM) has been urged to consider setting up an accreditation body for teacher education in Muslim countries.
Malaysian Deputy Education Minister Razali Ismail says such a body will facilitate mobility of teachers, allowing them to benefit from the expertise of teachers from various parts of the Muslim world and from the multiple perspectives that they will bring to teaching.
Razali has also urged the ICTEM to set up a Council of Teacher Educators so that important issues pertaining to teaching and teacher education can be discussed and solutions to common problems can be sought.
“We have much to learn from each other’s successes and failures and from the different contexts within which we operate,” he said when opening the ICTEM here Monday.
“It would also be beneficial for all if this conference could be conducted, perhaps once every two years, and perhaps, hosted by a different country so that the discussions can be continued.”
In his speech, read by the Deputy Director-General of Education, Asariah Mior Shaharuddin,
Razali said universities must make education a priority and recognize that the preparation of teachers was not just the responsibility of the faculties of education or teacher education institutions but also an intergral part of the university’s mission.
He said serving teachers should be allowed to continue their education through in-service programmes or courses so that they would be able to partake in discussions on various issues in education, improve their teaching skills and renew their commitment and enthusiasm towards teaching.
“There should also be increased collaboration between universities, teacher education institutions and schools in the preparation of teachers,” he said.
Razali said, for example, universities and teacher education institutions could communicate with the schools in their communities regarding those aspects that would improve teacher preparation. “If needed, they should also provide the expertise that would assist these schools to strengthen their educational efforts,” he said.