BATU PAHAT: The Education Ministry must take a firmer stance in handling security and safety issues in schools following another student’s death on school grounds, says an education group.
Malaysian Education Concorde Organisation (Me’Didik Malaysia) chairman Mohd Ridhwan Othman said the latest incident involving a Form Four student in Yong Peng here should serve as a serious reminder to all parties responsible for student safety.
He added that the incident was particularly concerning as it followed other cases involving students who died in schools, including an incident in Damansara and Negri Sembilan.
“Me’Didik Malaysia believes it is time for school safety standard operating procedures (SOPs) nationwide to be evaluated and reviewed comprehensively, not only after a tragedy occurs but as an ongoing preventive measure,” he said when contacted here on Sunday (Oct 4).
Ridhwan urged the Education Ministry to be firm in addressing security and safety issues in schools and to take more proactive measures to prevent similar incidents from occurring.
He said authorities and school management should examine whether existing systems and procedures were sufficient to ensure students’ safety while they were within school grounds.
Ridhwan called on the ministry, authorities and school management to conduct comprehensive safety audits at all schools, particularly in areas with limited supervision such as halls, storerooms, staircases, toilets and secluded areas.
He also urged a review of SOPs for additional classes and activities held after school hours, including ensuring that responsibility for supervising students was clearly defined.
Ridhwan said schools should strengthen their monitoring and access-control systems to ensure students’ movements could be monitored more effectively.
He called for every school to have clear and swift emergency response procedures, including for situations where students were found injured, unconscious or in suspicious circumstances.
He also urged schools to enhance safety and emergency-management training among teachers and other members of the school community.
“Student complaint and reporting mechanisms should also be strengthened, particularly for bullying, violence, safety threats or any suspicious incidents,” he said.
Ridhwan said Me’Didik Malaysia understood parents’ growing concerns about the safety of their children while they were at school.
“Schools should be the safest place for children to learn, grow and build their future,” he said.
He said parents should not have to send their children to school every day wondering whether their safety was truly guaranteed.
He said Me’Didik Malaysia respected the police investigation into the Yong Peng incident and did not want to draw any conclusions about the cause of the student’s death before the investigation was completed.
“However, student safety cannot only be given attention after a tragedy occurs,” he said.
Ridhwan also expressed his condolences to the family of the deceased student.
