Headmaster ducks meeting parents
An attempt by parents and citizens to confront the principal of SK Seri Pristana in Sungai Buloh seeking an explanation for forcing their children to take meals in shower room proves futile.
G Lavendran, FMT
The headmaster of SK Seri Pristana in Sungai Buloh today ducked meeting a group of 20 people who wanted to know why he lied to the press about renovation works in the school.
The group engaged in a verbal tirade with the police and security personnel manning the main gate when they were not allowed to see the headmaster, Mohd Nasir Mohd Noor.
Photos of non-Muslim children eating on makeshift tables set up in the school’s shower room, next to the toilets, went viral on the net when a parent published photos of it, generating a storm of protests.
Mohd Nasir told the media that the school’s canteen was undergoing renovation works and thus had little choice but to provide the shower room area for them to take their meals.
One of the uploaded photos showed the canteen cordoned off with red plastic tape but when FMT visited the school this morning, the red tape had been removed and there was no renovation going on.
Mohd Nasir also told the media the shower room has been used as a make shift canteen since March this year due to space constraints in the canteen proper.
The parents, however, claimed this was untrue as none of their children had complained about being made to take their meals in the shower room next to the toilets.
J Puspalatha, 30, whose daughter is enrolled in the school, alleged that several students were questioned by a teacher the day after photos of them eating in a shower room went viral on the internet.
“The teacher asked the students if their parents had taken the photos. Is that necessary?” she asked. “They are only children, they don’t know what’s going on. Why question them?”
The parent of a standard two child, known only as Nitha, denied allegations that the canteen was closed because of renovation work.
“They were only changing the wooden doors of the teachers’ canteen to glass doors, which is adjacent to the students canteen. Why the need to cordon off the students canteen?” asked Nitha.
“The doors were only changed yesterday which probably took several hours, so they were lying when they said renovation works started in March,” she added.
“My child goes to that school and I’ve not heard her complain about being made to take meals until July 12,” she said. “The school is just trying to cover up for their mistake now.”
