As a teacher, I welcome the move by Education Minister, Maszlee Malik to introduce special rooms in schools for teachers to rest and relax.

This is aimed at helping them de-stress and create a more conducive learning environment.

According to Maszlee, the special rooms are part of the Education Ministry’s aspirations to create an environment of “love, happiness and respect”.

“This is important because psychologically speaking, teachers are humans too and need space to rest.

“The contributions will be very meaningful and it will bring joy to the teachers. It will also indirectly help to improve the teaching qualities of the teachers themselves,” he said.

Maszlee said schools were welcome to find suitable spots in their respective places to set up the “special rooms” creatively.

“The most basic need is a chair to rest on and also space to make drinks. Some schools put TVs and other schools have special rooms set up in the foyer,” he said.

Maszlee hoped that more schools would set up the special rooms, adding that teachers would want their work and welfare to be given attention.

While many may think teaching is an easy job, it certainly is not and having to face hundreds of children each day is not an easy task.

I think this kind of effort would certainly be useful for teachers to rest and gather their thoughts before proceeding to their next sessions.

Amir Yusoff
Seremban