Ex-teacher says in letter to MOE that initiatives to manage teachers’ workload ‘not reflective of reality’

Ex-MOE teacher urges minister to see real classroom realities by visiting schools unannounced

Former teacher Jo Ann Kuek has posted a letter she wrote to the Ministry of Education (MOE) on Instagram, where she said initiatives to manage teachers’ workload, shared by Education Minister Desmond Lee in Parliament, were “not reflective of reality”.

Instead, she urged Mr Lee to visit schools unannounced to see what the reality is like in the classroom.

Initiative to manage teachers’ workload ‘not reflective of reality’, says ex-MOE teacher

The letter, addressed to Mr Lee and Minister of State for Education Jasmine Lau, was written in response to Mr Lee’s speech in Parliament on 4 Nov.

He said that various measures had been introduced to manage teachers’ workload, including allowing them to work from home, report later or leave earlier on days without classes or duties.

But Ms Kuek wrote that such initiatives “are not reflective of reality”, pointing out that most teachers simply do not have days without lessons, meetings or activities that require them to be physically present.

She also questioned whether MOE staff had been “on the ground” to see whether such initiatives were genuinely implemented and how readily they were taken up.

Minister urged to visit schools unannounced

In that vein, Ms Kuek urged Mr Lee to walk into classrooms without advance notice, saying:

Step into the classrooms that aren’t being shown to you.

She also encouraged him to speak “directly” to teachers who are not placed before him during official sessions, talk to former teachers who “no longer fear reprisal”, and ask “real questions” to “a larger, more representative group”.

‘Class size matters’

Ms Kuek also addressed the issue of class size — one that MOE “seems reluctant” to address, she said.

Having herself taught four to seven classes of 40 to 43 secondary-school students a year, she stated that “class size matters”.

She challenged the long-standing position that class size reduction does not meaningfully improve outcomes, arguing that MOE’s citied research “does not reflect our local classroom realities”.

In fact, the current workload that teachers face is “not sustainable”, she maintained.

Ex-teacher left MOE ‘burnt out’ & suffering from thyroid issues

Ms Kuek recounted her departure from MOE in 2010 after seven years as a teacher, saying that she was “burnt out” and suffering from stress-related thyroid issues that have caused her to be on lifelong medication.

On her last day as a teacher — 18 Jan 2010 — she left with “a box of letters and cards from my students and nothing else”, then burst into tears while walking down Orchard Road that same afternoon.

“I learnt that day that freedom sometimes felt a lot like grief,” she wrote.

But a month after she resigned, she allegedly received a letter telling her she owed MOE S$0.52 due to a salary calculation error.

“It felt like a slap in the face,” she wrote.

She implored MOE not to let teachers lose heart, “when so many still want to believe that change is possible or that their voices matter”.

Teachers shared ‘appalling’ and ‘heartbreaking’ stories, she says

Ms Kuek’s posts have resonated with teachers, with many thanking her for voicing what they felt they could not, she said.

Some shared their own struggles through private messages, with some allegedly telling her they shared anxiety medication in staff rooms.

Others described allegedly being denied more time off while grieving a family member’s death.

Worse still, the mental-health support bot introduced three years ago “does not work” and “was honestly an insult to the fraternity”, she added.

MOE responds after 15 days

MOE’s reply came 15 days after her letter, Ms Kuek said.

In the email that she uploaded on Instagram, MOE thanked her for sharing her “lived experiences” and said it “constantly reviews” issues affecting teachers.

MOE continues to work on reducing administrative burdens, it noted, explaining that class sizes vary based on students’ needs and can be “as low as 20”.

Technology tools such as the Student Learning Space and Parents’ Gateway also help teachers with planning and marking, the ministry added.

Ministers reach out to her

In her latest update via Instagram Story on Friday (21 Nov) night, Ms Kuek said Mr Lee and Ms Lau had separately reached out to her to speak further.

She did not know whether anything would change, but promised netizens that she would compile what they had shared with her and present it to them so they can have an idea of “the real voices from the ground”.

She also pledged not to let people’s stories “go to waste”.

Also read: Desmond Lee says in-school suspension ‘will be studied & considered’ amid bullying review by MOE

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Featured image adapted from MDDI on YouTube and @thejojobeansdiary on Instagram.