Dr Subramaniam (second right) presenting Guidelines for Good Occupational Hygiene Practice to Kamalanathan at the ceremony to present the Award for Clean, Safe and Healthy Canteen. — Bernama photo
SHAH ALAM: The Education Ministry is disappointed over an incident where a snake was thrown into a pond with school girls in a training camp organised by Civil Defence Force (CDF) trainers in Kuala Kangsar, Perak, recently.
Its deputy minister Datuk P Kamalanathan said this was the first case of an incident which should not have happened as their teachers had told the trainers not to throw the snake in.
“Even though the trainers had said the snake was not poisonous, that is not the issue because their actions had caused trauma to the students.
“There has been water training before, but never involved using an animal in the module,” he told reporters after attending a ceremony to present the Award for Clean, Safe and Healthy Canteen, officiated by Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S Subramaniam, here yesterday.
Kamalanathan was asked to comment on a video recording of the incident, which went viral and received criticisms from netizens, of several schoolchildren who were screaming and crying after a snake was thrown into a pond they were in.
Kamalanathan said the school involved had also been asked to contact the students’ parents to explain the issue.
He added that the school’s counsellor had also been directed to hold counselling sessions with the students to avoid prolonged trauma.
“The ministry hopes the CDF investigates the case thoroughly as we do not want the incident happening again in the future,” he said.
The video recording also showed several CDF members spraying water and yelling at the students to test their resilience.
A total of 45 pupils from a primary school in Kuala Kangsar participated in the training camp held in the compounds of the Kuala Kangsar CDF office.
Following the incident, the Perak CDF yesterday said four of its trainers including an assistant trainer who were involved in the module were being investigated for their part in the incident. — Bernama