M’sian teachers abandon students to visit S’pore casino

The students were left in the hotel while some teachers and
the principal tried their luck at the casino. (AFP Photo)

It was supposed to be a graduation trip to Singapore for a group
of Malaysian primary school students, but now, their teachers
and principal are accused of abandoning them to visit the casino.

According to a Kuala Lumpur-based newspaper report, a
student’s parent had complained about the teachers and principal’s
‘irresponsible behaviour’ during the trip.

The irate mother of the student said she paid more than S$340 for
her daughter’s four day school graduation trip to Singapore.
The 140 students were accompanied by 14 teachers and their principal.

It is believed that a majority of the teachers and principal allegedly l
eft the hotel at about 11pm to visit the casino on the first night.
However, it was not stated which hotel they stayed in or the casino they visited.

An angry parent revealed that a teacher was supposed to share
a room with her daughter who had a fever but the teacher could
not be located. Her daughter was left to wait in her own room with
her friend till past 11pm.

The girls were then told by the tour guide that the group of teachers
and principal had visited the casino, and only a few teachers were
in the hotel.

The teachers and principal are reported to have returned to
the hotel at 1am.

However, besides visiting the casino, the same group of teachers
and principal are also accused of leaving the kids with the tour guide
and a few other teachers at the Singapore Science Centre to go shopping.

The same parent told the paper that she was unhappy with the
behaviour of the teachers who were supposed to be in charge of the
students, but acted without a sense of responsibility.

“During an overseas trip like this, teachers should ensure the safety
of the kids as a top priority and not leave them as and when they feel
like it. Leaving the kids to go to the casino is atrocious.

“What if something had happened to them? Who will take responsibility?”

A teacher from the group, who later admitted that they visited the casino
during the trip, apologised to the parent for the distress caused by
their actions and said, “as teachers, we should not have abandoned our s
tudents to go to the casino.”

Some parents Yahoo! Singapore spoke to were shocked to hear
about the incident.

Said events manger Erik Ng, 36, “It was really irresponsible of the
teachers and the principal to do such a thing. I certainly can relate to
how the parent was feeling for her daughter who was ill.”

Mohd Azhar, 32, who has two kids, agreed. He said, “Action should be
taken against the group for leaving the kids to visit the casino. I hope
our local schools here have strict guidelines for teachers when it comes
to excursions and overseas trips.”

(got this news from yahoo)