A witness in the case of a teacher who was accused of skipping school for seven months admitted to being surprised by the response of the principal of SMK Taun Gusi, Kota Belud to his complaint regarding the teacher's absence.
Teacher Ibrahim Jadoon told the Kota Kinabalu High Court today that the principal at the time, Suid Hanap, seemed to underestimate the potential of the school's students.
"I stayed until afternoon classes and Suid told me, ‘Ibrahim, don't stay so long, they are murid kampung (village students), they don’t have high potential’," explained Ibrahim when answering a question from the plaintiff's lawyer Shireen Sikayun.
Proceedings had to be postponed for a while after Ibrahim failed to contain his emotions and cried, reminiscing the words of the principal when he reported the issue of the truant teacher, Jainal Jamran.
Ibrahim also told the court that Suid blamed the school counsellors and the school disciplinary board for 'failing' to deal with the truant teacher when these bodies are only tasked with dealing with student problems.
‘No sense of responsibility’
Earlier, when Shireen asked about Jainal's attitude, Ibrahim said Jainal had no sense of responsibility towards his students and often skipped classes without regret.
He added that Jainal was also known for his temper and often embarrassed his students because of their level of English proficiency.
Ibrahim also said he once confronted Jainal, asking him why he was not teaching his class, to which Jainal replied that he did not like some of the students in that class.
Ibrahim said he had reported the problem to Education Ministry official Redzuan Ahmad, and among the actions taken was a visit from the ministry to the school for observation.
The lawsuit against Jainal was filed by a former student of the school, Siti Nafirah Siman, and she was represented by her lawyer Shireen while senior federal attorney Jesseca Daimis represented Jainal.
The trial at the Kota Kinabalu High Court continues tomorrow before judge Ismail Brahim. - Mkini
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