Prime Minister Officiates Teachers’ Day Celebration, 12 Initiatives To Cheer Educators
IPOH, May 16 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today officiated the 55th National-Level Teachers’ Day Celebration 2026 held at Hotel Casuarina @ Meru here.
The celebration, themed ‘Guru Bitara Nadi Negara’, reflects appreciation for the role of teachers that goes beyond imparting knowledge, with educators now recognised as builders of the nation’s future.
This year’s main concept aims to uphold teachers’ professionalism in shaping a prosperous society based on the MADANI principles of Sustainability, Well-being, Creativity, Respect, Confidence and Compassion.
Also present at the celebration were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek, Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad, as well as about 3,000 educators from across the country.
In her speech, Fadhlina announced 12 exciting initiatives to empower and strengthen teachers’ duties, including the continuation of free Google Certified Educator (GCE) Level One and Level Two certification courses for all teachers.
In addition, Fadhlina announced the expansion of the Federal Teaching Scholarship to school leaders pursuing master’s degree studies, as well as a special Federal Training Award for teachers willing to serve in hardship schools under ProHas (School Attendance Programme) in P1, P2 and P3 areas.
She also announced an allocation of RM169 million to supply devices to every school next year to further strengthen school co-curricular activities and enable the uninterrupted application of technology in the teaching and learning process.
Also announced was the abolition of the manual co-curricular recording system, with schools to be given autonomy to manage co-curricular recording according to their suitability and creativity before entering students’ co-curricular information into the Physical, Sports and Co-curricular Activities Assessment (PAJSK) system.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister, who occasionally referred to himself as ‘Cikgu Anwar’ during his officiating speech, stressed the concept of “Excellence Without a Soul”, emphasising that academic intelligence alone is insufficient if separated from humanity, moral values and social compassion.
At the same time, the Prime Minister also shared a personal story about his close relationship with his former teacher and former director-general of education, the late Tan Sri Abdul Rahman Arshad, as a symbol of a student’s deep respect for teachers.
At the same ceremony, Anwar also presented three awards, namely the World’s Best School award to Sekolah Kebangsaan Putrajaya Presint 11 (1), Putrajaya, the National Education Leadership Figure Award to Dr Ahmad Rafee Che Kassim, and the National Teacher Figure Award to Abdul Rasid Bakar.
Perak was selected as the host for this year’s celebration, which was held over two days beginning yesterday, featuring several main events including a royal dinner attended by the Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Shah, as well as the National-Level Teachers’ Awards Ceremony officiated by the Education Minister.
As a mark of appreciation for the contributions and excellence of educators, a total of 32 awards in various categories were presented, including the Education Minister’s Special Award, Tokoh Guru Kebangsaan and Tokoh Kepimpinan Pendidikan Kebangsaan, as well as awards for Innovative Teacher, Distinguished Teacher and Icon categories, such as Digital Content Creator and Distinguished Teacher with Disabilities.
This year’s celebration was not merely an annual event, but also served as an important platform in realising the aspirations of the Malaysia Education Blueprint (RPM) 2026-2035.
It encompasses improving education quality through the empowerment of 21st-century pedagogy integrating digital technology and artificial intelligence; teachers’ well-being through balancing teachers’ workload, providing psychosocial support and recognising teachers’ expertise; and inclusive education by positioning teachers as agents of equality so that no student is left behind, including students with special needs.
-- BERNAMA
