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Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary School principal denies “blackmailing” students to watch YOG
August 19th, 2010 | Author: Your Correspondent
Temasek Review reported that students from Kuo Chuan Presbysterian Primary School were “blackmailed” into paying a $5 deposit to watch the YOG Preliminary swimming competition at the Singapore Sports School on 19 August 2010. The $5 deposit will be returned to them if they turned up on the actual day and confiscated if they do not do so. (Kuo Chuan Primary School students FORCED to pay $5 deposit to ensure they watch YOG games)
The high-handed and arbitrary manner in which this school is forcing their students to support the YOG has peeved many Singaporeans off with many condemning the school’s actions and calling for the MOE to take appropriate action.
Responding to enquiry by MediaCorp, Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary principal Clifford Chua said this was not an attempt to coerce the pupils to support the Games.
Mr Chua said it was “never the school’s intent, nor is there such a necessity”; there was such “overwhelming response” that pupils had to ballot for the 100 tickets the school got for five YOG events.
However, as the school gave out the tickets for free, the intent was to ”ENSURE THAT OUR CHILDREN LEARN THE VALUE OF RESPONSIBILITY AND NOT TAKE TAKE THIS RARE OPPORTUNITY AND NOT FOR GRANTED, by wasting the ticket and depriving others of the chance”, he told MediaCorp.
The refundable deposit, he said, was only for games that fall on non-school days, to “reinforce this message”. This was explained to parents and pupils, “and they have expressed support”.
Despite the scheme, pupils who fail to turn up, even without a valid reason, will eventually get their deposits back, added Mr Chua. “Children are children. They tend not to value things that are given to them free. But really, the intention is to teach them to commit yourself and to behave responsibly,” he said.
Parents of Kuo Chuan pupils had mixed views about the school’s move.
Technical support officer Md Alkaf, 32, said: “It’s not the right way because if the student is really interested, he would turn up.”
Housewife Michelle Bellido, 43, felt otherwise. She said: “Children may not realise it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It wouldn’t be nice if someone who gets the tickets backs out when others … are desperate to go.”
Netizens were less forgiving and minced no words.
peanuts600K: Why must those who do not like the YOG be forced to watch it. Isn’t there anything better to do? Who give the school authority to enforce such a law to students to literally forced the students to attend such unmeaningful event. The Ministry of Education and the school should be ashamed of themselves to come up with such lame method to booster the attendance for such a lousy event.
KNN: Huh?!? Is this even legal? Why not charge parents $110/month to ensure their kids attend school — to be refunded if kid does not play truant?
PAP smear :I notice that while it says ‘consent form’ at the top, there’s no indication of whether parents can refuse to let their child attend. Means that the school has already made up their minds the ALL their students will attend regardless of parental consent. IMO, they wouldn’t even bother giving out the form if they didn’t need to collect ticket fees.
omg: OMG! What has our MOE turns into ????? With our Education Minister said our students will be benefiting from the YOG but gotta resort into ‘DEPOSIT’ to secure attendance for YOG games ???
this is outragious: Is this really happening in Singapore? Are our professionals from the education fraternity truly doing this? My god, is this true? Do they actually have brains to decide to resort to such low acts?
Luckygirl: I thank my lucky stars that I’m not a student anymore. Otherwise I wud be facing the same predicament as the students. Life is getting harder for students nowadays. While Kuo Chuan Presbysterian Primary School requires a $5 deposit to “instill the value of responsibility” in its children to watch the YOG, other schools contacted has no such practise.
Netizen Lex sums it all up with a valid question: I believe the school has no right to collect $5 deposit. I believe it is call EXTORTION which is an offence under the penal code?
As for this writer, blackmail would have been a more suited word.
August 19th, 2010 | Author: Your Correspondent
Temasek Review reported that students from Kuo Chuan Presbysterian Primary School were “blackmailed” into paying a $5 deposit to watch the YOG Preliminary swimming competition at the Singapore Sports School on 19 August 2010. The $5 deposit will be returned to them if they turned up on the actual day and confiscated if they do not do so. (Kuo Chuan Primary School students FORCED to pay $5 deposit to ensure they watch YOG games)
The high-handed and arbitrary manner in which this school is forcing their students to support the YOG has peeved many Singaporeans off with many condemning the school’s actions and calling for the MOE to take appropriate action.
Responding to enquiry by MediaCorp, Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary principal Clifford Chua said this was not an attempt to coerce the pupils to support the Games.
Mr Chua said it was “never the school’s intent, nor is there such a necessity”; there was such “overwhelming response” that pupils had to ballot for the 100 tickets the school got for five YOG events.
However, as the school gave out the tickets for free, the intent was to ”ENSURE THAT OUR CHILDREN LEARN THE VALUE OF RESPONSIBILITY AND NOT TAKE TAKE THIS RARE OPPORTUNITY AND NOT FOR GRANTED, by wasting the ticket and depriving others of the chance”, he told MediaCorp.
The refundable deposit, he said, was only for games that fall on non-school days, to “reinforce this message”. This was explained to parents and pupils, “and they have expressed support”.
Despite the scheme, pupils who fail to turn up, even without a valid reason, will eventually get their deposits back, added Mr Chua. “Children are children. They tend not to value things that are given to them free. But really, the intention is to teach them to commit yourself and to behave responsibly,” he said.
Parents of Kuo Chuan pupils had mixed views about the school’s move.
Technical support officer Md Alkaf, 32, said: “It’s not the right way because if the student is really interested, he would turn up.”
Housewife Michelle Bellido, 43, felt otherwise. She said: “Children may not realise it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It wouldn’t be nice if someone who gets the tickets backs out when others … are desperate to go.”
Netizens were less forgiving and minced no words.
peanuts600K: Why must those who do not like the YOG be forced to watch it. Isn’t there anything better to do? Who give the school authority to enforce such a law to students to literally forced the students to attend such unmeaningful event. The Ministry of Education and the school should be ashamed of themselves to come up with such lame method to booster the attendance for such a lousy event.
KNN: Huh?!? Is this even legal? Why not charge parents $110/month to ensure their kids attend school — to be refunded if kid does not play truant?
PAP smear :I notice that while it says ‘consent form’ at the top, there’s no indication of whether parents can refuse to let their child attend. Means that the school has already made up their minds the ALL their students will attend regardless of parental consent. IMO, they wouldn’t even bother giving out the form if they didn’t need to collect ticket fees.
omg: OMG! What has our MOE turns into ????? With our Education Minister said our students will be benefiting from the YOG but gotta resort into ‘DEPOSIT’ to secure attendance for YOG games ???
this is outragious: Is this really happening in Singapore? Are our professionals from the education fraternity truly doing this? My god, is this true? Do they actually have brains to decide to resort to such low acts?
Luckygirl: I thank my lucky stars that I’m not a student anymore. Otherwise I wud be facing the same predicament as the students. Life is getting harder for students nowadays. While Kuo Chuan Presbysterian Primary School requires a $5 deposit to “instill the value of responsibility” in its children to watch the YOG, other schools contacted has no such practise.
Netizen Lex sums it all up with a valid question: I believe the school has no right to collect $5 deposit. I believe it is call EXTORTION which is an offence under the penal code?
As for this writer, blackmail would have been a more suited word.
