Parents’ association wants action against abusive teachers

SHAH ALAM: The association representing parents of children in Chinese schools is calling on the Education Ministry to act on teachers who exhibit violent behaviour.

Wong Foh Sang, president of Jia Zong, said despite multiple cases of teachers using violence on students, the ministry has taken no action.

“Teachers will become daring if the ministry does not handle these situations accordingly,” he said outside the Selangor Education Department following the submission of a memorandum detailing cases of student mistreatment over the last two years.

The handing of the memorandum and protest by some parents came following a case of a Year Five pupil in Ijok, Selangor, who was said to have been verbally and physically abused by her teacher on Wednesday.

The pregnant teacher allegedly insulted and hit the pupil early this week over homework, but had blamed it on her hormones.

Other than hitting the pupil, the teacher also overturned the pupil’s table and mocked her for coming from a broken family.

Tee Lay Goon, the pupil’s mother, said the actions of the teacher had left emotional and physical scars on her daughter.

“Hitting her and overturning a table is bad enough, but she also taunted my daughter for not having a father.

“Not having a husband is my business, not my daughter’s fault. The teacher cannot use this to belittle my daughter,” said the mother of three who noticed red marks over her daughter’s body after she came out from the shower.

Tee claimed that the school headmistress had also warned her daughter “to keep her mouth shut” regarding the matter.

Two of the school’s senior assistants brought the teacher to Tee’s house to apologise later that evening.

“The reason the teacher gave me was that she is pregnant and hormonal fluctuation led to her losing her temper.

“The teacher is an adult. If she is unable to control her emotions, then it’s best for her to not be a teacher in case she causes harm to other children, too,” Tee said, adding that her daughter had been sent for a medical check-up and she had lodged a police report.

Wong said violence had no place in schools.

“How can a professionally trained educator be violent and threaten children? I hope the ministry will take note and put a stop to this,” he said.

Selangor Education Department public relations assistant director Mohd Zulhelmi Bahtiar Jamili accepted the memorandum, but declined to comment.