RIGHTS DENIED: Ting (seated third left) with pupils (seated from left) Richmend, Edward and Idie, their parents and others.
BINTANGOR: Three pupils of SK Bandar Bintangor were not allowed to sit for the UPSR (Primary School Achievement Test) because the school considered them academically poor and might pull down its overall performance.
The three boys were said to have been locked in a remedial room while their classmates sat for the examination on Sept 13 and 14.
When their parents complained, they were allowed to sit for the examination on Sept 15 – the final day of the examination.
The boys are Idie Ganyol, Edward Ujoh Augustine and Richmend Mangi.
Meradong assemblywoman Ting Tze Fui told The Borneo Post yesterday that the three boys were locked in a room from 8am until noon on the first two days of the three-day examination.
She said their parents lodged a police report when the incident came to light.
“Police went to the school to check on Sept 15, and found the boys locked in a room,” Ting recalled, adding that the trio were later sent to the examination hall.
“But they could only sit for English Paper I and II and one other subject,” she lamented.
Urging the Education Department to investigate, Ting said the school had been unfair to the pupils.
She was concerned because UPSR was such an important examination.
“Without sitting for it, they can’t proceed to secondary school,” she said.
She chided the school for denying the pupils their right to sit for the examination, and said the school’s concern for its overall performance could not justify its act.
“Not everyone is born smart, but they can learn. That’s why we need education.
“No discrimination should exist in our education system,” said the Meradong assemblywoman.