Control feelings when dealing with students, teachers told

KUALA LUMPUR: Teachers have to get a grip on their emotions when dealing with students, says Deputy Education Minister Datuk P. Kamalanathan.

He said teachers should always be aware of their actions and the consequences they brought.

“Teachers need to be patient towards the pupils. They should find other ways and means to find a solution to solve an issue rather than being violent,” he told a press conference after the Malaysian Tamil Language Competition held at Sekolah Menengah Sains Selangor yesterday.

He was commenting on a case in Tanah Merah Kelantan involving a female teacher who was said to had slapped her student for allegedly shaving her eyebrows.

Nursyahida Zulkifli was allegedly slapped three times at the back of her head by the teacher after believing that the Form 3 student had shaved her eyebrows.

The slaps caused her to vomit and she was admitted to the hospital for a nerve problem.

Her mother Zakirah Zahari was reported to have said that the slaps could have aggravated her daughter’s old injuries, sustained when she fell in the bathroom last year.

She hurt her head during the fall and was warded for two months.

The incident which happened last Tuesday, was first posted by Nursyahida’s father in his Facebook account before it was lifted by the popular website ohbulan.com.

Kamalanathan said there were so many ways to discipline a pupil without hurting them.

He pointed out that the Education Ministry had been constantly reminding teachers to find peaceful ways to resolve issues.

Kamalanathan said he would visit the school, where the incident was alleged to have taken place, tomorrow.