Teaching is one of the rare professions where lives can be shaped directly and deeply. Yet, fewer Malaysian Christians are reportedly choosing this path.
According to the Teachers’ Christian Fellowship (TCF) Malaysia, a vacuum now exists in the leadership pipeline of Christian educators, particularly those prepared to assume leadership positions in schools, including mission schools.
There are 417 mission schools under the Ministry of Education. When a Christian principal retires, the School Board of Governors may nominate a candidate who has completed the NPQEL course. Increasingly, this has become difficult simply because there are not enough Christian teachers qualified for the role.
“A growing challenge is that many Christian teachers have now retired,” said TCF General Secretary Indy Kannaiya. “We have 1,200 registered members under TCF, but 60% are over 60 years old and no longer in service.”
Currently, only 478 of TCF’s members are still teaching, and just 101 of them (21%) are below 40 years old.
“As believers, we often ask how we can make an impact, bless our communities and transform our nation. We hope that more young Malaysians will consider teaching as a profession and understand its significance in shaping a nation,” Indy said.
The impact of one teacher is staggering. A teacher with four classes of 30 students, for instance, would have more than 22,000 direct contact hours with about 4,200 students over a 35-year career. That’s 630 hours of impact a year, over six times more than a pastor preaching a weekly 2-hour sermon.
Indy was also quick to debunk the myth that teachers in Malaysia earn poorly. “A fresh graduate with a tertiary degree can earn a monthly salary of around RM3,000, and if you are sent to rural areas, you could be provided up to RM1,500 more in monthly allowances,” she revealed.
It may not be a mountain of money, she acknowledged, but the privilege of shaping lives, sowing hope and building the nation outweighs the sacrifice of some luxuries.
For Ooi Vern Hau, now a TCF staff worker, the call to invest in Malaysia’s next generation is personal.
The 33-year-old spent a decade in teaching, rising to become the principal of an established international primary school in KL before making the career shift to join TCF last year.
“When I was a teacher, I realised not every Christian teacher saw teaching as an opportunity to sow, build and impact lives. By joining this ministry, I hope to inspire more teachers on a larger scale to embrace the call,” he shared.
For many Christian teachers in Malaysia, TCF has long been a companion and source of encouragement. Established in 1961 by a group of educators, its mission has remained the same for 64 years: to support and strengthen Christian teachers.
Today, TCF runs conferences, seminars and gatherings for teachers to exchange stories, build one another up and guard against burnout.
According to TCF administrator Rosalind Cheong, its members include educators from government, mission, private and international schools, as well as pre-schools and kindergartens.
“Anyone who is a Christian and educator is welcome to join TCF,” said Rosalind, who joined the staff team in 2018 after volunteering for a TCF trip to Cambodia, where they trained local Christian teachers.
Vern Hau believes that if more believers answer the call to teach, future generations will be grounded in godly values and Malaysia will flourish.
“Our prayer is that more Christian parents will encourage their children to become teachers if they feel called, and for Christians to realise schools and colleges as places where they can make a real and lasting impact,” he said quietly.
For the TCF team, finding purpose in any profession starts with a personal conviction, a strong relationship with Jesus and the support of a community like TCF.
“To Christian teachers, serving or aspiring, remember that you are not alone. Remember the call. Be encouraged that God is raising up believers across professions, including teaching, with a renewed love for Malaysia,” Vern Hau charged.
Next to him, Indy and Rosalind nodded in agreement.
“Impacting Lives, Changing Futures. That’s TCF’s motto and one we truly believe in. As followers of Christ, we are called to bring His love wherever we go — and that includes the classroom,” Indy finished.
To learn more about Teachers’ Christian Fellowship Malaysia or support its ministry, click here.
