Boy skips UPSR exam over ‘joke’ by teacher

(NST) GURUN: It was apparently meant as a joke, but because of a remark from his teacher a 12-year-old boy skipped his Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah examination.

A few days before the UPSR started on Tuesday, Mohd Khairul Anuar Md Isa told his mother his teacher at SK Paya Mengkuang had said he might as well not turn up for the exam because he would fail.

"My son did not take this piece of advice lightly," Rohani Ahmad said at her Kampung Paya Mengkuang home yesterday.

"I kept telling him he should go but he said he was afraid."

She said on Wednesday she and her husband Md Isa Ahmad took him to school, but he came back home, again saying he was afraid.

"I'm saddened by the way the teacher and the school authorities treated my son. He may not be the best student in his class, but he should have been given a chance to sit the exam."

School principal Hasnah Hussin and two others were at the boy's home when the New Straits Times visited.

She apologised to Khairul and his parents, saying it had been a misunderstanding.

"I hope it can end here and that it is not made into a big issue. The teacher might have been joking and Khairul took it seriously. Whenever there is an exam around the corner, our teachers tell their pupils to make sure they come," Hasnah said.

The state Education Department director could not be reached for comment.