KUALA PILAH, MALAYSIA: State education au-thorities and school heads must abide by Education Ministry directives and not to be overzealous in burdening teachers with irrelevant work. Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said teachers' duties had been clearly spelt out and the state education heads and headmasters should follow the instructions issued via circulars and announcements.

"I am aware that teachers have been raising several issues pertaining to their welfare and I have taken note of this. It is not something that cannot be resolved as this is not a widespread problem," he told reporters after opening the UiTM branch campus here.

Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, was responding to claims by the National Union of the Teaching Profession that some state education departments and school heads had been assigning teachers with more non-teaching duties.

NUTP claimed they were now doing more clerical work, attending courses and organising programmes rather than teaching.