By UOW Malaysia 

Thousands of secondary school students in Selangor recently had the privilege of casting votes to choose who they felt were the most dedicated and passionate school teachers.

Their votes went into choosing recipients of the Passion Teacher Award 2023, organised by UOW Malaysia and Selangor Education Department to celebrate Teachers Day.

The old saying that “there are no bad students, only bad teachers” is one which many believe in, so to celebrate, acknowledge and reward the contribution of teachers in nurturing future generations, the students themselves were invited to vote.

Teachers of nine partner schools in Selangor took part, and it began with each school nominating 10 of the most passionate teachers in their midst.

The schools were SMK Kota Kemuning, SMK TTDI Jaya, SMK Seafield, SMK USJ 12, SMK Setia Alam, SMK Bukit Jelutong, SMK Taman Sea, SMK Damansara Jaya and SMK Tropicana.

Students in each school were then invited to cast their votes to choose the teacher they felt were most passionate about their profession.

This preliminary round of voting took place from May 19 to May 30, 2023.

The winners from each of the nine schools then became finalists in the grand finale round of voting, held from June 16 to 27, 2023.

The selection of the Grand Finalist was entirely left to the votes of students in all nine schools.

It was a chance for the teachers to be recognised through a method based purely on how they are perceived by students themselves.

In the finale, out of 2,608 valid votes, SMK Bukit Jelutong teacher Nur Haniff Hussin garnered 724 of the votes, making him the clear winner of this year’s Passion Teacher Award.

The remaining eight finalists were each awarded with certificates, trophies and a cash prize of RM500.

Nur Haniff also received a certificate and trophy plus a cash prize of RM1,000.

“All school teachers share a crucial social responsibility of nurturing the young during their most critical years.

“There are so many things for the young to learn, academically and socially, and we all rely on school teachers.

“As a leader in tertiary education, UOW Malaysia realises that when students move on to enrol in tertiary studies, much of their latent abilities depend on how their school teachers have guided them.

“So it is an honour for us to hold the Passion Teacher Award to reward the best teachers,” said Professor Dr Hiew Pang Leang, Vice-Chancellor of UOW Malaysia.

At the grand prize giving ceremony, all finalist winners, school principals and representatives of Selangor Education Department were invited to a special luncheon prepared by UOW Malaysia’s School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts.