Corpun file 15100

New Straits Times, Kuala Lumpur, 2 February 2005

School sets up special disciplinary court

PASIR MAS, Feb 1: The good news for unruly students at Sekolah Kebangsaan Dato Abdul Hamid Satu here is that teachers, including the discipline teacher and headmaster, will no longer cane them.

The bad news is they will be handed over to their parents for disciplining.

A special court to try disciplinary cases has been set up by the school under its novel "Sekolah Tanpa Rotan" (No Caning School) programme.

Headmaster Fauzi Che Mod said the special court would be chaired by the discipline teacher and would include the headmaster, class teacher, school counsellor and parents.

"If the student commits truancy or is involved in fights, the parents will be called in before the offence is read out. The student will be tried in front of the parents before the sentence is given," he said.

He added that once parents were satisfied with the report on their child's wrongdoing, they would be given the option of selecting one of five canes of various sizes provided by the school for caning.

"It depends on the parents whether they want to cane their child or not. However, if the student commits the offence a second time, the parents will be given the option of selecting another school for their child," he said after the launch of the programme here today.

Fauzi said there would be no follow-up action on the student if the parents refused to cane their child.

He said it was enough for the parents to know about their child's misbehaviour and the offence committed in school.

"From now on for disciplinary cases which involve caning, the class teacher will record the offence.

"The discipline teacher will then refer the report to the counsellor and headmaster before calling the parents to the special court."

He said the programme had been well received by teachers, parents and students.

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Corpun file 15148

The Star, Kuala Lumpur, 7 February 2005

School justified in disciplining students

I DO not know why Concerned Parent was so worried over the disciplinary action imposed on students by a school in Cheras, "Punishment must not be excessive or unnecessary" (The Star, Jan 11).

If the boys had long hair and were wearing bell-bottoms and the girls were wearing mini-skirts and earrings, then obviously the school had to take firm action to stop them.

As a mother of three students (two boys and a girl), I would be very concerned if my children went to school like that.

I think the Cheras school was quite right to give the boys a public caning and to cut their hair.

Perhaps, their parents should also give them a few extra strokes of the rotan to reinforce the teacher's message!

It is high time our students were made to behave themselves in school instead of aping pop stars and TV performers in the way they dress.

EMILY TAN, 
Petaling Jaya.

© 1995-2004 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D)

Corpun file 15277

The Star, Kuala Lumpur, 13 February 2005

Special court a good idea

ALLOW me to congratulate the principal and the teachers of Sekolah Kebangsaan Dato' Abdul Hamid, Pasir Mas, Kelantan, for their splendid idea of holding special courts to have parents actively participate in the disciplining of their own children (The Star, Feb 3).

In their programme oddly named “School without cane”, the parents involved are given the choice of the size of canes to be used to discipline their children once they are satisfied with the findings that their children need the use of them.

And should the parents not wish to have their children caned, this is also allowed since they would have realised that they have a problem on their hands.

The principal and the teachers of this school must have been concerned enough about their disciplinary problems to have come up with such a solution.

Obviously, they must have come to the sad but realistic conclusion that counselling has not been effective and merely having the principal and the discipline teacher use the cane has got the school nowhere.

Counselling only works when the ‘patient’ accepts the need for counselling and really wishes to change for the better.

And we ought to accept that the fear of being caned is a form of psychology to instil change in a person.

Of course, in their wisdom, the school knows there will be parents who would not want their children caned.

Thus, these parents are allowed to have their children ‘bound over’ with no further action.

The hope is that they have been made aware that there is a problem and that they should perhaps seek some other kind of solution.

Our school discipline problems continue to plague us with no actual solution in sight.

We ought to face the truth that there is no best way to deal with the problem and every method can and should be used, the appropriateness of which depends upon the subject and his deeds.

As a teacher, I hope there will come a day when a really good solution to discipline problems is found and teachers can focus more time and effort on teaching.

AWONG
Sungai Petani.

© 1995-2005 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D)