Jisin Nyud
SIBU: Sarawak Teachers’ Union (STU) urges all parties to come to the school and discuss with the teachers to find a solution to students’ disciplinary issues.
STU president Jisin Nyud asserted that parents should not be too quick to jump to a decision to bring the teachers to court just by listening to their children.
Parents must listen to both sides so that they understand what the real issue is, he added.
Urging parents to attend or help in school functions, he said this is the only platform for parents and teachers to mingle and talk about school issues, particularly on the education of the children.
“Sometimes, it is very disappointing to see that some parents never attend school activities organised by parent-teacher associations.
“When an issue crops up, they will blame the school,” Jisin told The Borneo Post yesterday.
He was asked on the recent call of the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) on all quarters to respect the role of teachers by giving them a ‘little power’ to address disciplinary issues among school students.
NUTP secretary Harry Tan Huat Hock reportedly said in a statement that teachers would not punish students arbitrarily and if there were pupils who were punished, it was for their misdeeds.
“NUTP urges all parties not to make the act of disciplining pupils an issue and causing the teachers to be brought to the court as if they are guilty,” Tan said.
According to Jisin, educating students is getting tougher and tougher when some of the parents are too defensive of their children.
“Not only that, due to this act, students come to the extent of scolding and demanding their teachers follow what they want,” he lamented.
He said some parents are not happy when their children are punished for misdeeds or fault because they never scold or get angry with their children at home.
Calling for respect for the teaching profession, he said all jobs or professions begin with a teacher.
“Without teachers there are no doctors, engineers, accountants, lawyers and so on,” he asserted.
Sarawak Bumiputera Teachers Union (KGBS) president Ahmad Malie, on the other hand, pointed out that it was high time for some authority to be returned to teachers in order for them to mete out appropriate actions against students with disciplinary problems.
Ahmad said this was to prevent the students from easily repeating their misdeeds.