“We will discuss how many teachers can be away from school at a time for such activities,” Bernama reported him as saying at Merlimau Polytechnic in Melaka today.

This comes after education minister Fadhlina Sidek outlined seven measures to ease teacher workload, including eliminating low-impact programmes and assigning non-teachers as examination invigilators.

Azam said teacher workloads had been a point of focus since he took office, and required a holistic approach.

He also called on principals and head teachers to better coordinate external and co-curricular activities to avoid overburdening teachers.

“When students come to school, they must receive their rightful education. Teachers shouldn’t be weighed down by programmes that have little to no impact.

“Tasks that are unprofessional or unrelated to teaching and student learning should be dropped,” he added.