Substitute teachers found guilty of committing immoral acts will face disciplinary action from the ministry, said the parliamentary secretary for the Education Ministry today.

"In situations where substitute teachers are found guilty of committing such acts, they are expelled from the training colleges,"said Mahadzir Mohd Khir.

He added that this is to uphold moral standards in schools.

On preventive measures, he said a basic component of the syllabus in teachers training colleges is moral and ethics education for non-Muslims and religious classes for Muslims.

As for punishments applicable to qualified teachers, he said they include fines for cases of khalwat, paycuts for those found committing illicit affairs, and demotions for those found committing acts such as sodomy.

More serious cases involving rape and molestation are handled by the police.

Verify allegations

"We have to verify all allegations and ensure that we deal with all parties involved fairly and not simply act on hearsay," said Mahadzir.

"As such," he continued, "depending on the severity of the case, we may take up to four and a half months to take action on those involved."

In the Parliament lobby later, Mahadzir, stated that there have been 41 recorded cases of immoral acts involving teachers since 1995.