Teachers are tasked with the mandate to impart knowledge to their students as not only are they paid for doing so, but it’s also their call in life.
In an unprecedented case in the educational field, a Sabah student is bringing her ex-teacher to court after it was alleged that he failed to turn up for classes for seven months.
M’sian student sues ex-teacher for being absent for 7 months
NST reported that the student, 23-year-old Siti Nafirah Siman, had filed a lawsuit on Oct 30, 2018 against her English teacher Mohd Jainal Jamrin for failing to teach her the subject at SMK Taun Gusi Semtasi Kota Belud for a period of seven months back in 2015.
She also named the school principal Suid Hanapi, the Kota Belud district education officer, Sabah education director, director general of education, education minister, and the government as defendants as well.
Addressing the court at the start of the trial today, Siti claimed that she was denied a proper education, had to relearn the Form 4 syllabus when she was in Form 5, and had little job opportunities as a result of Jainal’s absence.
Claimed ex-teacher did not sign attendance
Siti also told the court that there was a “Buku Kawalan Kelas” for teachers to sign their attendance after they have finished teaching the class.
However, she alleged that Jainal stopped signing his attendance in the “Buku Kawalan Kelas” at the end of February and early March, until a week before her final exams.
Siti also said that she had previously requested for “Buku Kawalan Kelas”from the defendants but was ignored.
She also claimed that she and her classmates were forced to write an apology letter and shower words of praise on Jainal. Though admitting that the contents were false, Siti said it was done out of desperation as they needed a teacher to guide them through the final exam.
‘I want my case to be a wake up call’
During her testimony, Siti broke down in tears as she told the court that she hopes her ongoing court case will serve as a ‘wake up call’ to all teachers about abandoning their students.
I hope that what I am doing now will make some teachers realise that they should not neglect and look down on the ‘lower’ class, and give them the same level of education as the ‘upper’ class, that’s all.
The trial is set to continue today.
READ ALSO:
