Ten-year-old Nur Fatihah yearns for school
KUCHING: A 10-year-old girl who has been ordered to leave school, missed school so much after eight months that she resorted to writing a touching letter to her teachers.
The handwritten letter by Nur Fatihah Quaraini described how much she missed school, particularly her teachers. She not only signed the letter but also drew a picture of her teachers with the title “I love my beutiful (sic) teacher”.
In the letter, she also wrote about her wish to see her little sister attending the Kemas kindergarten located next to the primary school and missing the food at the school canteen. However, she said the thing she missed the most is schooling.
Her predicament is that without a birth certificate, she cannot attend school. She should be in Primary Four.
She was born to Sophia Muhammad, a Sarawakian from Asajaya, at home in Klang, Selangor. At the time, Sophia was a housewife and dependent upon her contractor domestic partner who later left her and Nur Fatihah. In fact, the couple were not married when the girl was born. The reason for the alleged delay in applying for her birth certificate was hardcore poverty.
Subsequently, Sophia brought Nur Fatihah and her other siblings home to Sarawak. However, her three siblings have birth certificates and are schooling. Presently, Sophia earns a living by fishing.
Sophia’s plight was highlighted on Facebook and picked up by social activist Manjeet Sidhu.
Manjeet said: “I felt sad reading the letter. We should not kill her dream of going to school. The mother is a single parent, a divorcee and poor. The problem is that the girl was born in Klang, Selangor. The mother brought back her children to her hometown ( Sarawak) to raise them on her own.”
National Registration Department ( NRD) Sarawak is now helping them to settle the problem with NRD Selangor, Manjeet said, adding that she brought the girl and her mother on Friday to see NRD Sarawak officers and they were told to bring up their predicament to NRD Selangor.
“She was ordered to leave school and now she misses school. She is not allowed entry to the school (name of school withheld). So now we are helping her to reapply for a birth certificate from NRD Selangor. I got the assurance from NRD Sarawak that they will seek the assistance of NRD Selangor in solving this issue faced by the girl and her mother,” Manjeet said.
“NRD Sarawak requested the mother to get the birth certificate for her daughter who loves going to school so much. They requested her to get it as soon as possible so that the girl can go to school.
“All of her children were born in Semenanjung ( Peninsular Malaysia). The other children got their birth certificates as they were born in the hospital. This particular girl was born at home and delivered by a ‘bidan’ (village midwife).
Manjeet said the Ministry of Welfare, Women and Community Wellbeing has been informed of the case.
She also said that she wanted to bring Nur Fatihah to see the school authorities soon as it is not right for them to deny her an education.
Manjeet also plans to seek the help of a community leader to solve the case.