Court throws out suit against Wee over computer classes

Parents also ordered to pay RM10,000 to the respondents.

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court today dismissed a suit brought by 18 parents against Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong and four others, which challenged the government’s decision to include computer classes into school timetables.

The decision was made by Judge Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim in chambers today after granting preliminary objections to dismiss the suit.

In April last year, the 18, parents of students of Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina Desa Jaya, Kepong, filed the originating summons asking for a declaration that computer classes for Years One to Six of government-aided schools, including Chinese primary schools, was not a subject in approved timetables and was not within the ambit of Education Act 1996.

Hence, they said the computer clasess cannot be included into the timetables of government-aided schools nor be taught during normal school hours.

They also wanted all the subjects including computer classes in the approved timetables of government-aided schools to be exempted from any levy or fee.

In the suit, they named Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina Desa Jaya’s headmistress Chow Siew Fon, Wee, the Parent-Teacher Association of the school, the school board’s chairman, Tan Kim Hor and Selangor Education director Sulaiman Wak as the respondents.

They claimed that the headmistress had abused her powers by inserting the computer classes into the school’s timetable and had authorised the collection of fees from the students for the computer classes.

Counsel Ben Chan who represented Tan told reporters that the court dismissed the suit with costs.

He said the court ordered the parents to pay RM10,000 to the other four respondents while his client, Tan, was to be paid RM25,000.

- Bernama