The group said that charging the teacher would set a dangerous precedent for educators who undertake their duties in the future.
“It seems that whoever ‘touches’ the children will face court action. What message are we sending to the public in charging the teacher?” its chairman Mak Chee Kin said, adding that the teacher’s prospects for promotion would also be at risk now.
Mak was commenting on a case of religious teacher Mohd Zaid Yob, who was charged at the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate’s Court for assaulting a 12-year-old student by pulling his nose.
He was accused of committing the offence at a primary school in Taman Sri Rampai, Wangsa Maju, on Aug 16.
The court set bail for Zaid at RM1,500 with a surety and fixed September 29 as mention.
The National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP) meanwhile urged the public and the authorities to let teachers do their jobs professionally when disciplining students and not take them to court for the punishments they meted out.
Its president Kamarozaman Abdul Razak told FMT earlier that teachers faced higher risks on the job now as they were open to prosecution.
Besides Mohd Zaid’s case, teacher Noorhidayani Mohd Salamun was accused earlier this year of causing hurt to a standard three student when she pinched the student’s ear.
Mak also called for the charge against Zaid to be dropped and for the education ministry to be allowed to handle the matter instead.
He questioned how teachers were to carry out their jobs satisfactorily if they faced being charged over such matters.
“Who is going to control the classroom?” he said, adding that he believed teachers did not want to intentionally hurt their students as they only wanted them to behave well in the classroom.
Meanwhile, Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) chairman Noor Azimah Rahim said that parents should listen to both sides of the story, from their children and the teacher involved, before seeking further action from the authorities.
“Give them both the benefit of the doubt and be neutral in dealing with disciplinary issues.
“And then find a solution together on what we can do to improve the student’s discipline,” she said, adding that such issues should be resolved by the school.