PETALING JAYA, Apr 2 (Sin Chew Daily) — The United Examination Certificate (UEC) holders who are keen to apply for the Teaching Degree Program (PISMP) conducted by the Institute of Teacher Education (IPGM) do not have news about the program this year.

The IPGM is currently recruiting new applicants for the program. Deadline for the application for PISMP is April 15.

Malaysian Association of Chinese School Teachers Association (Jiao Zong) chairman Cheah Lek Aee told Sin Chew Daily the association is paying attention to the IPGM-UEC program for UEC holders graduating from Chinese independent schools as there was no news for intake of new applicants.

Jiao Zong had also contacted the Ministry of Education but received no reply.

Based on past experiences, Cheah said intake of new applicants for PISMP and IPGM-UEC were held concurrently.

There was no news on IPGM-UEC program last year but the matter was resolved later, he said.

Li Jin Hua, head of Jiao Zong's teachers' training division, said the division was unable to promote the IPGM-UEC program as the Ministry of Education did not release any information on new intake for this year.

The ministry has been recruiting UEC holders with SPM qualifications for PISMP specializing in Chinese language since 2011.

However, the 20 vacancies each year were not filled, he said.

Li said the division received inquiries from UEC holders about PISMP but as there was no reply from the ministry, he was unable to furnish the latest information at this moment.