Let’s protect our educators

PARENTAL groups and educators are in support of the code.

Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia (PAGE) chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim agrees that parents, like teachers, should adhere to a code of ethics. Clear two-way communication, she said, is vital.

“Several countries have adopted the code. We should consider some of their best practices,” she said, while suggesting that the Rakan COP (Community-Oriented Policing) programme be reactivated in schools.

“Parents drop kids off at school and they leave. Naughty kids walk past the gates in view of teachers and prefects. No one says anything so parents are in the dark. There must be communication at all levels,” she said, adding that channels for parents to complain, must also be kept open or some would turn to the Internet to vent their frustrations.

She also called for at least two administrators to be present to listen to discipline cases in the office. As school heads are often not around, everything must be recorded.

“Find an amicable solution. Helmets and items that can used as weapons, must be left at the guardhouse if a parent wants to enter the school.”

While having a code of ethics is good, Melaka Action Group for Parents in Education (Magpie) chairman Mak Chee Kin feels it should be provided for by the respective schools, not the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP).

This is because different schools, have different cultures. Also, students’ backgrounds and needs, vary. There cannot be a blanket code for all schools.