in POLIMAS

[email protected] / 019-488-1430
01 September 2013
Writer :Bakri Baharom
…from TPA’s desk…06
in POLIMAS
Editor:
Azlida Ahmad
(PTSS)
i
Thou Shall Be At Work On Time
Do you look forward to Sundays (or Mondays), the first working day of the
week? Are you anxious waiting for Thursday (or Friday) to get away from your
work place? If your answers are YES and NO respectively, the chance is your
healthy heart condition will last long. When we signed up on the dotted line, we
have made a promise to live up to the rules of the employment. One is expected to
put in a certain number of hours per week. If you are becoming clock-watchers or
clocking irregularly then it is time to do everyone a favour; QUIT.
In my long years of service, I have witnessed many instances of weird excuses.
Have you heard of this story? There were 4 staff who car-pool to go to work. One
day all of them decided to play truant and went fishing. Should the office ask, they
all agreed that it was due to a punctured tyre on the way to the office. The next
day, the office summoned them one at the time. Each was asked a similar
question. Which of the four tyres was punctured? Not suspecting anything, each of
them answered confidently. The next day, the manager announced in the assembly
that it was most unfortunate for a group of four workers whose car tyres
punctured on all four at the same time! None of them received any bonus at the
end of that year.
In the early of 2010, I was the TPSA in POLIMAS. Among my duty then, was to
check on attendance. I was assisted by a clerk, Fadzil b. Baharom (not my
brother) who scrutinised all the records. In January, they were 36 late comers.
They were issued with Show Cause letters of which 2 did not reply. We sent
them reminders. In February, the figure dropped to 22. It further reduced to 8 in
March. By April, we had only 2 cases. Unless you practise firing exercise, you will
never achieve zero-defect. Someone asked me how to reply to the letter. I
suggested he include four things;
First, he must admit his fault (as though running through the red trafficlight); second, he must give a logical excuse (e.g. his child-minder ran away);
third, he should apologise for being late; fourth, he ought to promise not to
repeat the misbehaviour. There was one gentleman who came to see me. He was
not happy. The morning records showed he was late by merely 3 to 5 minutes
whereas in the afternoon he claimed to put in extra 15 to 20 minutes to make it
up. Since he looked religious, I asked him what time is Asar (afternoon) prayer.
He said, for that day, it was 4.30 pm. I asked him whether I could perform my
prayer earlier by 2 minutes. He said NO. My reasoning got him thinking. From
that day onward, he was never late.
ii
Thou Shall Understand The
Conditions Of Employment
Terms
Under the DH scheme, everyone belongs to one of four categories. While
the first three groups are in the polytechnics, the fourth is in the headquarters.
Group 1 refers to those who teach full-time; Group 2 will be doing management
and teaching; whereas Group 3 is totally on management. The majority of DH
staff belongs to Group 1 as it is our core business. The scheme also stipulates
that the minimum number of teaching load is no less than 16 hours per week.
The recent directive to add one hour of Academic Advisor activity means
increasing the hours to the total of 17. The heads of department and heads of
programme teaching load are 6 and 8 hours per week respectively. Their main
responsibility is to make sure all programmes run smoothly. A big department
like Civil Engineering looks after about 100 staff, 5 academic programmes, as
many as 1800 students and RM5 million worth of assets. To put it into
perspective, that is like running a secondary school in my neighbourhood.
Everyone has his/her Job List which will be appraised at the end of the year.
Everyone has enough things to do to keep them occupied from 8 to 5 every day.
The bottom line is for everyone to do their tasks well.
iii
Thou Shall Have Proper FRP (LRF)
The Lecturer Record File (LRF) contains all essential information about a
certain course. It is the main document audited both by Quality and MQA
auditors. The file is divided into standard parts, namely; A: File Check List B:
Semester Schedule C: Curriculum Content D: Lesson Plan E: Workshop
Schedule / Weekly Students Activities / Equipment Booking Form
F:
Attendance Record G: Continuous Assessment Record H: Warning Letters I:
Class Replacements J: Miscellaneous.
Unless someone is sleeping on the job, it is almost impossible not to have a
complete and comprehensive LRF at all times. The weaknesses are normally
due to carelessness, procrastination and taking things too lightly. A quick
check through numerous LRF belonging to the senior lecturers DH44, DH48,
DH52 and DH54 revealed the deficits in the following areas:
And
a) Some documents are classified as controlled. Example: Quality Document PPP-05
should not be duplicated and placed in LRF whereas Course Curriculum must be
validated and approved by Course Leader or Head of Department.
b) Attendance is taken with timely warning letters for absenteeism (if any). Any medical
certificate submitted should be filed. This is to avoid any contention later on.
c) Date of implementation and reflections should be recorded after each lesson so that
CQI could be applied.
d) Quiz and test questions must follow the Taxonomy Bloom standard with appropriate
verbs. The evaluations are carried out as scheduled in the Lesson Plan.
e) The LRF needs to be checked and signed by Course Leader or Head of Department
during the 8th and 15th week.
iv
Thou Shall Conduct Lessons Well
There is a big difference between coming to work and actually doing the work. The former is
subjected to thumb-print records while the latter is actually delivering quality lesson. I have seen
instances where someone clocks in and out (sometimes as late as 9.00 pm) but nowhere to be
seen in between. I have discovered that some specifically schedule their timetable so that they are
free on Thursday (Friday) or/and Sunday (Monday) to enjoy longer weekend. Could they have
delivered quality engagement in three packed days?
For the time being, actual lessons being carried out are monitored using
an instrument provided by Department of Polytechnic Education (JPP). The
Deputy Director (Academic) will check on the Head of Departments who in
turn will monitor his/her Course Leaders. The Course Leaders will observe
on their respective lecturers under their charge. The students will also be
given the chance to appraise the Teaching and Learning process. A report is
compiled. The 5 evaluation domains are as follow :
A. The Teaching & Learning (T&L) document is basically a complete and updated LRF. It
also includes a Lesson Plan for the semester to achieve CLOs, delivery mode, teaching
aids, assessment and CQI after lesson delivery. The total score is 15.
B. The second domain consists of Induction Set, Time Management, Use of Technology,
Student- Centred Learning (SCL), Formative Assessment and Lecturer’s Feedback and
Conclusion. Normally SCL is the weakest point among all the others. The total mark is
45.
C. Lecturers’ Competency and Professionalism carries 15 marks.
D. Class Management includes safety, cleanliness, students’ attendance and class
management. This carts 10 marks.
E. The use of English language as the medium of instruction under the policy of PPSMTI
carries 15 marks.
v
Thou Shall Mark Assignment On Time And
Based On The Marking Scheme
Gone are the days when assignments are marked according to how heavy the answer scripts
are. Gone are the days too, when test marks are plucked from thin air. There were cases of the
whole class scoring either A’s or F’s for a particular course. The worst rumour I heard many years
ago was when assessment marks were awarded to a long deceased student. The purpose of
quizzes and tests given out at specific times are to see the progress of students’ mastery of certain
Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs). What good is it when quizzes and tests are marked at the end
of the semester? Blame it on the heavy workload or ancillary duties but test papers should be
marked within a reasonable time. Should there be many failures; corrective actions could still be
taken. Probably, the approach is inappropriate, the speed is too fast, the environment is not
conducive, the exercises are too few, or the fundamentals are weak.
vi
Thou Shall Perform Ancillary Duties (tugas
sampingan) Equally Well
I am not too sure whether it was meant as a complement when someone
made this remark, “Do they think we are MPVs (Multi-Purpose-Vehicles)? Yes,
indeed we are. If I were to list down all the extra or clerical work that our staffs
are expected to do, it will probably be a few pages long. There are various
committees that one may be appointed to. The staff may be called for
numerous meetings, consultations and workshops. They are expected to take
part in various students and social activities. They accompany students for
industrial visits, monitor students who live outside the campus, conduct extra
classes, invigilate examination, attend various official state functions, be
advisors to sports and clubs and expected to solve whatever problems that
come their way. The bottom line is, no one can fall asleep on the job!
vii
Thou Shall Park At Designated
Areas
One of the features of an organised institution is to see its car park. In line with the spirit of 5S,
everyone should be self-conscious enough to park their cars/bikes at designated bays. What does it
take to dissuade illegal parking along the road outside our 7-storey building? It has been unresolved
for nearly 10 years. My observation shows that the cars are all regulars. The seniors would remember
the fate of two big trees near Plastic Workshop. The director then Dr Khair (2005, now Datuk) was not
happy with the cars parked under the trees. His warnings went unheeded. One Friday afternoon he
called me at home to bring a contractor. By Saturday afternoon, the trees ceased to exist. A few days
later, someone left his car near the rubbish dump-site. He was furious. The owner confided in me
that the car water-pump burst. It was never his intention to make Dr Khair’s hair turned more grey by
the day. I learnt then, a car does not run on petrol alone.
At one time too, we prohibited students’ bikes bigger than 110cc to enter our campus. It turned
out these big bikers (mostly 135cc, RXZ) were restless while attending lectures. The rules were
revised. Now, any student can bring any bike/car as (s)he wishes. We always try our best to
accommodate everyone. Should we have extra money, we will build more covered sheds. The only
request by the management is for everyone to get their parking habits right.
viii
Thou Shall Attend At Least 10 Days Of
Courses In The Year
In 2005, there was a directive for all government servants to attend 7-day
course in a year. The Ministry of Higher Education then, increased the number
of days to 10. The guideline specifies that the course must be related to the
field of work. That means embroidery and gardening courses are out of the
question. For polytechnics, the Continuing Education unit is entrusted to
monitor its progress. I heard the 10-day course has become one of our
Secretary General’s (KSU) Key Performance Indicator (KPI). The course may
include workshops, seminars, conferences and the mandatory Competency
Program Course Matrix (CPCM) and Skill Upgrading (PPK). The last two are
pre-conditions for promotion. Unless your e-SIS (our headquarters online
portal) record is clear, you may be in trouble.
ix
Thou Shall Be Part Of The Family
Our polytechnics (and Community College) are made up of about
10,000 family members. They are in almost every nook and cranny of the
country. Matured polytechnic like POLIMAS has nearly 600 staff; both
academic and non-academic. Operational wise, they are divided into
departments and units. One may belong to any particular section, labouring
all day but sharing the same common vision. Since we are spending a good
part of our life together, why don’t we give our best shots? As some sayings
suggest; no one should be an island and no one should work in a silo. Look at a
piece of paper. It can be easily torn. Have you ever seen anyone tearing a
telephone directory book? We must help, collaborate and complement each
other, but we must also compete against one another. We must try to be in
one big happy family.
x
Thou Shall Be Role Models
There is countless number of practices that you can be recognised for. These will be
above and over your regular duties. Check out if you are doing all right with the following:
You wear proper attire (with name tag) as a government servant should. You make no fuss to
travel by bus/taxi when our T&T money is insufficient. You buy your own stationery whenever
the items are out of stock at the store. You make a report but continue teaching in the lecture
theatre whenever the air-conditioning system breaks down. You attend all meetings, assemblies,
briefings and workshops and still replace your class without complain. You volunteer to take
care of your club facilities like courts, fencing and equipment; even with your own money
sometimes. You are more than happy to accompany your charges with their activities during
weekends or public holidays. You are always ready to work with anyone from any department or
unit in order to complete a task. You bring up complaints and suggestions through proper
channels and not resort to poison-pen letters.
You mix around, demonstrating confidence and joy working in the polytechnic. You help to
promote the good image of our institution to the general public. And above all, your hearts
belong here.