The Ministry of Education (MOE) is initiating moves to terminate Nur Aini's employment as a Malay language teacher for rendering her uncle assistance in a time of desperate need. She chose kin rather than country, a country whose citizens have started to question the worth of defending. A country which doles out school places, jobs, housing and seats on the MRT, to the detriment of its own local born and bred. Nui Aini will be spending Xmas in a lock-up for abetting an offence.
MOE, however, is choosing to ignore a not too dissimiliar crime committed by teachers at Chinese High and Hwa Chong Junior College. Alumnus Jonathan Wong was caned publicly for peeping into a women's toilet when he was in Secondary 3. Police was not informed, no report was registered of the criminal offence, which is punishable by jail up to one year and/or fine. The teachers chose to exclude the trangression from Wong's school testimonials and abetted him to secure the Teaching Scholarship (Overseas) in 2006. MOE states they made the award based on academic and co-curricular records and testimonials written by his teachers.
In an effette attempt to exonerate their criminal liability, a Hwa Chong Institution spokeperson inadvertently made the damning confirmation, "The teachers' testimonials were based on their observation of Jonathan during his time under their charge." The teachers "thought he had learnt from his mistake" and conspired to groom their young charge, whose scholar career path will surely be gilded by the PSC to superscale nirvana, and conceivably culminate to millionaire status in a cabinet position.
Wong was supposedly counselled and "responded well", the teachers claimed (Google "Hardcore child pornography shame of University of York student Jonathan Wong"). Miss Nui Aini was not accorded a similar opportunity to avoid incarceration. It is no comfort to her that MP Halimah Yacob (Jurong GRC) said MOE is merely following regulations, adding, "there will be efforts to assist her so she continues to remain employable." Let's hope Al Qaeda won't offer her a scholarship first.
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Apart from tightening their character screening criteria for teachers and teaching staff (scholars or not), MOE also needs to monitor current staff and their habits to assess continued suitability for teaching.
ReplyDeleteInternet surfing habits can be a means to identify possible sex preys from internet sites visited, whether porn material is found on office PCs, online chatting habits etc. Over obsession with sex, watching porn, visiting sex chat sites etc are all indications of adverse influence.
This rule should be subjected to all staff (who interact with students) in schools, polytechnics and Universities because they pose possible chance of giving bad influence to students.
Sex obsession can manifest itself in the gentlest of men and is not a easily identifiable trait. So far, there have been a case of engineer filming upskirt videos of women in shopping complexes, men caught for indecent exposure in public areas, a doctor caught filming couples at east coast in cars in compromising sex acts, men who were caught for peeping at women in changing rooms, men in chatrooms soliciting for sex and threatening unsuspecting young women with videod sex acts etc!
The ACS principal's inappropriate behaviour towards a male colleague is another example of teaching staff exhibiting undesirable behaviour.
What's wrong with our schools?
ReplyDeleteFemale teachers convicted for having sex with underaged students.
Head of the School behaving indecently towards teaching staff of the same gender.
Scholar becoming teacher caught having child porn oversea.
Which Minister is incharge of education? And what has he done with above cases?
This just show Singapore is really a normal society like any other country in the world. We are made up of all kinds of people, good and bad. There's nothing wrong. Don't get so uptight.
ReplyDeleteagree totally with anonymous at 12.05.
ReplyDeleteNormal?
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing normal with the bad hats in society and a society that doesn't even batt an eyelid to these bad traits and undesirable traits is rocketing towards doom.
There is no way Nur Aini can sail into MOE without some kind of disciplinary action. The public will not accept such non action. Does the discipline fit the crime? Yeah it probably does. Hope she finds a job elsewhere afer her sentence. Maybe she can write a book abot her experiences.
ReplyDeleteJW's case is a pathetic reflection of the unequal treatment of individuals. He was given the benefit of the doubt from his teachers because he was scholar material. It is unlikely that the average student would have been given similar treatment.
It may be of interest that even if Jonathan Wong was charged for his Sec 3 offence, his criminal record would be sealed ("wiped off") by the Juvenile Court and inaccessible anyway, after he turns 17. This is in line with the general concept of restorative justice for juveniles.
ReplyDeleteBut given his dubious background and the large supply/competition of talented non-peeping-Tom people his age, he should never have been recommended by his teachers for a scholarship.
It's can be so hypocritical.
ReplyDeleteFirst they make sure she will lose her job by sacking her. Then they also say they will help her find some other job to remain employed.
But she was trained to be a teacher. Is therere any question that they will ever allow her to teach again ?
It seems they want to be the Devil and the Angel at the same time.
I agree with Anon (November 24, 2010 10:50 AM) and (November 24, 2010 12:05AM).
ReplyDeleteMOE has got to take some action and not just keep quiet. What actions are you taking regarding current staff ? What changes are there to screening process of new teachers ?
If nothing is being done, it shows no lessons were learnt from these incidents.
MOE has to terminate Nur Aini's employment for a very simple reason - she broke a major law.
ReplyDeleteIF Nur Aini is someone called Sophia Lee Ming Siok who harbours a DANGEROUS CRIMINAL, for example, would you think she ought to be jailed and sacked from Civil Service?
Bear in mind he was not any criminal, but a DANGEROUS one, a terrorist!! Don't tell me you support terrorism??
Nur Aini harboured and abetted a DANGEROUS criminal who -- if he is allowed to escape, could come back to BOMB Singapore or could have caused untold damage, killing many others!
Jonathan Wong's scholarship has been revoked. That is fair already. Why are you comparing it with Nur Aini's case?? HER actions could have caused many people to DIE from terrorist acts.
ReplyDeleteJonathan Wong's teachers merely did their job by writing testimonials, which ALL students get at the end of their junior college. They did not "abet" him. EVERYONE knows testimonials are supposed to bring out the good points of a person. Who in the right mind would expect a testimonial to have bad stuff?? be fair to the teachers.
Nur Aini "abetted" a terrorist, a terrorist group and terrorist acts.
,,,
IF Mas Selamat was not caught, he could have gathered forces and planned more attacks to BOMB innocent people, including YOUR relatives. Imagine they die at the hands of terrorists at Changi Airport and you watch them die, screaming. would your defence of Nur Aini be different?
ReplyDeleteIF Jonathan Wong was not caught, he would have been released in schools to lust after young children.
Both of them have received punishments. Both lost their teaching careers.
Don't blame Jonathan Wong's teachers. They only wrote testimonials which EVERY teacher needs to write for EVERY student. And "testimonial" means the good points.
Duh.
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