Teacher hit with another suit over English class attendance

 

Three more students have filed a suit against an English teacher over his alleged failure to turn up for classes at SMK Taun Gusi, a school in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

Rusiah Sabdarin, Nur Natasha Allisya Hamali, and Calvina Angayung, through law firm Messrs Roxana & Co, filed the suit at the Kota Kinabalu High Court last month.

The students, all aged 19, are suing teacher Mohd Jainal Jamran over his alleged failure to teach them English language class between March and November 2017.

Previously on Oct 30 2018, it was reported that student Nafirah Siman, 19, sued Jainal for purported failure to turn up for classes for seven months at the same school in 2015. 

The current lawsuit’s five defendants are Jainal, the school’s principal Suid Hanapi, the Education director-general, the education minister and the government of Malaysia.

According to a copy of the suit’s statement of claim sighted by Malaysiakini today, the three plaintiffs were students in the same class, 4 Sains Sukan (4SS), at the school, between January 2014 and December 2018.

The trio claimed that Jainal, who was assigned to 4SS to teach English thrice a week for the duration of the 2017 academic year from January to October, only turned up for the class in January and February.

“However by March 2017, the first defendant (Jainal) would frequently arrive late for his English class and would leave the class early or would not attend at all.

“During numerous instances of late attendance and/or no attendance, the plaintiffs had to go to the first defendant at his office to remind and/or request him to attend the English class he was assigned to.

“Save for a few instances where the first defendant would attend class but failed to teach, the first defendant would ignore the plaintiffs’ requests,” they alleged.

The trio further alleged that between March and July 2017, Jainal would intermittently or inconsistently attend 4SS, but that due to his alleged entering class late and leaving class early, he purportedly failed, refused and/or neglected to teach the students the prescribed syllabus.

“On or about July 14, 2017, the first defendant had completely abandoned his duties to teach the students of 4SS the English Language and to prepare them by failing, refusing and/or neglecting to enter the class again,” they claimed.

The plaintiffs claimed that despite complaints lodged with several teachers and administrators at the school, no action was taken against Jainal, nor was 4SS provided with a substitute teacher.

They are seeking a court declaration, among others, that all five defendants are in breach of their statutory duty under the Education Act 1996 to ensure the three plaintiffs were taught English during the nine-month period in 2017, as well as prepare the plaintiffs for their examinations.

The plaintiffs are also seeking a declaration that all five defendants have violated the trio’s fundamental right to access education enshrined under Article 5 read with Article 12 of the Federal Constitution.

They are claiming for exemplary, general, and aggravated damages, costs, and any further relief deemed fit by the court.

This is not the first time SMK Taun Gusi had been in the news.

Previously in 2013, a mother filed a police report and urged action from the Sabah Education Department for allegedly failing to bring her then 14-year-old son to the police station or hospital after he was assaulted by a group of students.

Masdah Tabulung claimed that school administrators instead caned her son.  - Mkini