KUALA LUMPUR: The National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) said government schools should not impose upon their students to solicit public donations.
Its president, Hashim Adnan, said government schools were restricted from doing that even if they had obtained permission from their respective education departments to obtain donations from outside the school.
“Such activity has its risks for both primary and secondary students. We don’t want adverse incidences of students being abducted or raped in the course of such activities,” he told Bernama here yesterday.
Hashim noted there was no reason why schools had to resort to such means of financial sources when the government had provided various financial assistance to them. Similar sentiments were echoed by some parents and the public, with one civil servant and father of a Year Two pupil noting that such activities had been ongoing even during his time.
“His school had one last year. This year, it had the ‘ceriaton’ programme. When the collection did not amount to the target, the school asked the students to solicit for funds again,” he claimed.
Another civil servant claimed that some schools would attach a consent letter from parents to the donation card to make it appear more official.
Meanwhile, a participant of an internet forum on the same issue claimed the school which his nephew attended, used a strategy whereby the student who collected the highest amount would be given a prize while those who failed to reach their target, would be asked to do another round for donations.
Most of the forum particpants opined that such activity by the schools was all right but that they should not force their students to do it. — Bernama