Tamil School Board alleges that the District Education Department practises discrimination.
PETALING JAYA: The Petaling District Education Department is barring six Seaport Tamil School students from the UPSR examination because they have refused to attend classes at the new premises in Kampung Lindungan.
The Malaysia Tamil Schools Board (MTSB) disclosed this today and accused the department of persecuting the students because their parents were protesting against the closure of the Seaport school.
The six are among 41 students, including 23 in pre-school classes, who have refused to move to the new site, about 4km away. They are attending classes conducted by volunteer teachers at the Seaport premises.
“On Monday, the parents met district education officers to get permission for their children to sit for the UPSR,” MTSB president R Kannan said. “But, the permission was denied.
“Why further punish the poor parents and students? Those students are already denied their right to proper education with the taking away of basic education aids like textbooks, the food programme, education funding, teachers and other facilities.”
Seaport Tamil School, which was instructed by the Education Ministry last December to transfer its amenities to Kampung Lindungan, was the last remaining Tamil school in Kelana Jaya.
Parents of the 41 students have joined forces with former students to form the Save Our School SJK(T) Seaport Movement (SOSS).
Kannan said the Education Department’s decision on Monday was an act of discrimination because in a similar case involving a Chinese school in Damansara several years ago, students were allowed to sit for the UPSR.
He noted that the education system does allow students to choose where they want to sit for examinations.
He urged the government to find a better solution to the current dispute than persecuting students.
Kannan accused Deputy Education Minister P Kamalanathan of pretending to be unaware of the issue.
“The MIC man is ignoring the Seaport Tamil School issue,” he said. “He is not answering the numerous memoranda and letters sent to him, even phone calls and text messages.”
He alleged that Kamalanathan lied when he said the school was not shutting down but being relocated.
“He hid the information that the new school was actually built as SJK(T) Kampung Lindungan as per the Public Works Department’s engineering specifications.”
Kannan said the Education Ministry, instead of obtaining a licence for the new premises, had taken the easy way out by “stealing” the Seaport school’s licence.
Left with just 28 students, former teachers have taken to guiding primary school students on a pro bono basis.
FMT FOCUS
PETALING JAYA: Despite their existence protected under the Federal Constitution, Tamil schools have always found themselves in a lurch due to lack of support from the government.
They used to number in the thousands but now there are only about 500 left after many rubber estates, which used to house vernacular schools, were taken away in the name of development.
One such school is the Sekolah Tamil Seaport, which is the only Tamil school remaining in Kelana Jaya.
In December last year, the school headmistress, under the instruction of the Education Ministry, took away all of the school amenities to a new one in Kampung Lindungan, about 4 kilometres away.
However, 28 of the 115 students have refused to move to the new school, and their parents and former students formed the ‘Save Our School SJK (T) Seaport Movement (SOSS)’.
For now, they have several former teachers guiding the remaining students, on a pro bono basis.
“I’m doing this to preserve the Tamil language and our culture,” said G Murugasu, one of the five teachers volunteering at the school.
Although the teachers do not have a fixed salary, parents have collected donations to contribute towards their daily expenses.
When FMT visited the school last week, only two teachers were present, as the rest were on leave.
“They have other commitments. We cannot force them because they are doing it on a voluntary basis,” said Murugasu, who retired from the service in 2002.
Asked if it was possible for one teacher to teach so many subjects, he said that it was a normal practice at several other Tamil vernacular schools.
“There are schools where the teachers teach various subjects. Here, our emphasis is on reading, writing, Mathematics and languages,” he said.
Touching on the forced closure of the school, an upset Murugasu said that the school must be allowed to continue its operations.
“Why should the school be closed? There are 30 students here and there is a building to cater to them.
“The new school (in Kampung Lindungan) can focus on the Indian community there,” said Murugasu, who used to teach at the Seaport Tamil school in the 90s.
‘Give back school’s operating license’
He also asked for the school’s facilities to be returned and urged the government to provide the necessary for the school to continue operating as usual.
A check by FMT found that the school library, sports facilities store and science laboratory were all left bare, possibly taken to the new school.
“Apart from this, students are deprived of text books, the RM100 book vouchers, Food Supplementary Programme (RMT) and milk scheme,” said Murugasu.
K Letchimy, who operates the school canteen, said she has three children studying the school and would not budge from her decision to keep them in the current school.
“We don’t want to transfer our kids as the school in Kampung Lindungan is a far from where we live,” said the 40-year-old Letchimy, who lives in Lembah Subang.
Letchimy also claimed that she was ‘harassed’ by the school headmistress who is now heading the Tamil school in Kampung Lindungan.
“The headmistress always calls, telling me if I transfer my children they will receive the RM100 book vouchers. But we don’t want it. I just want our children to be schooled here,” she said.
Asked if it was alright for one teacher to teach her children several subjects, Letchimy said she has no problems with that. “I have no qualms. My son who is in Year Six is a better student now.”
Malaysia Tamil School Boards president, R Kannan, pointed out that the new school, which was completed in December last year, is built on a one-acre land.
“This is contrary to PKNS’ promise that it will build a new school on a five-acre land. What difference can a one-acre land make? The so called improvement is only on paper,” he said.
On the school license being revoked, Kannan said it was daylight robbery.
“The school’s operating licence was taken away from this school. We are now requesting the Education Ministry to give back the operating licence,” said Kannan.
Kannan, who is also part of the SOSS, is also requesting the Selangor state government to gazette the land to the school as promised in 2008.
Last week, several parents from the school submitted a memorandum to the United Nations (UN) and Suhakam in an effort to retain the old school.
The school, which was taken over under the name of development by the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) in 1965, was founded about 80 years ago.
The Education Ministry has said that it would not recognise the 28 students if they continue studying in the old school, including the six students who are due to sit for UPSR later year.
SOSS will also be admitting 21 pre-school students beginning this month.
Parents of students at the Seaport Tamil School want the UN and Suhakam to act and prevent their children from being moved to a new school.
PETALING JAYA: Parents of students at the Seaport Tamil School, in Kelana Jaya, here, have submitted a memorandum to the United Nations (UN) and Suhakam in an effort to retain the old school and stop any move to force their children to attend classes at a new school building 4km away.
Parents of 51 out of 115 students have refused to move to the the new school. They found it an extra burden financially and inconvenient to send their children to the new school further away.
In December last year, the headmaster under the instruction of the Education Ministry took away all the facilities at the old school, including tables and chairs, to the new building.
Save Our School SJK (T) Seaport Movement (SOSS), which consists parents, old students, ex-Seaport estate workers and NGO leaders handed over the memorandum to the UN representative Devendra Patel urging the world body to take measures to the retain the school at its original site.
Devendra Patel said he would take up the issue with the relevant authorities for a permanent solution.
SOSS secretary R Kannan told FMT that they were forced to seek the help of the UN because the government was not helping resolve the issue.
“The school has been taken over under the name of development by PKNS in 1965.
“Founded about 80 years ago, it is the only Tamil school in Kelana Jaya, where there are more than 10,000 Indian families.
“However, there are still 51 students (28 primary and 23 pre-school) out of the 115 who have refused to move to the new building in Kampung Lindungan, Petaling Jaya,” he said.
Kannan said instead of solving the issue, the ministry had threatened to bar the students from sitting for the UPSR examination.
“We are still teaching the students at the old school with the help of volunteers and NGOs after all the related agencies, including Selangor state government, kept mum on the matter,” he said.
He added that the parents and students had pledged to stay put at the old site until the ministry gave back the operating licence to the school.
Earlier this morning, SOSS also forwarded a memorandum to Suhakam, urging the human rights commission to take necessary action to save the Seaport school.
All students at Seaport Tamil school must shift to new building, says Selangor education dept
PETALING JAYA: As parents fight for SJK(T) Seaport to remain at its original premises in SS7, Kelana Jaya, the Education Ministry is adamant that all pupils shift to the school’s new building.
Despite the school having relocated to Kampung Lindungan at the start of this year’s school term, parents of some 27 pupils have been conducting “classes” at the old school building with the help of volunteer teachers.
Selangor Education Department director Datuk Mahmud Karim said that if parents still refused to register their children at the new school building, their children could be expelled from the school.
“We have also reminded the parents involved that they will be given warning notices if their children do not attend classes at the new school building, and we can take further action including expelling these pupils if the warnings are ignored.
“If there are parents who do not want to send their children to the new school building, the ministry will help them place their children at other nearby schools,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.
As the state government has yet to issue any notification to gazette the site of the old Seaport Tamil primary school, the Selangor Development Authority (PKNS) is moving ahead with plans to take back the land.
And if parents refused to move out the 27 pupils who are still occupying the premises, PKNS may consider legal action to compel them to do so, said corporate communications manager Ishak Hashim.
A special committee has been set up to try and persuade the parents to send their children to the new school located ain Kampung Lindungan, about 4km away, he said.
It will hold a meeting on Jan 28 to discuss how to approach the parents, as well as future development of the site.
“We may meet them to understand why they don’t want to move (to the new school). We will explain that they need to move (out), as the land belonged to PKNS,” he said when contacted.
“But if they are still unwilling to do so, the committee may have no option but to take legal action.”
School closure forces Tamil school students to study under trees
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The students going back to their school are at a school that doesn’t exist. Not legally, anyway.
The ministry had told the parents that the Kelana Jaya land, which belongs to the state government body, the Selangor State Development Authority (PKNS), had been sold to a private developer.
But a land search done by the parents reveal that the land is still in the name of PKNS.
Kamalanathan seemed unaware that the students are attending classes at the old school, and may have been told that they are attending tuition classes.
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Malaysiakini
2:53PM Jan 15, 2014
Seaport school relocation: Problem unresolved
Despite a series of negotiations between Seaport Tamil primary school (SJK Tamil Seaport) and the authorities, it seems there is no solution yet over the school relocation issue.
Its students returned to its original site in Kelana Jaya today to continue their studies rather than the new school at Kampung Pelindungan.
However Deputy Education Minister II P Kamalanathan, who visited the new school today, insisted that the school has been relocated and urged the parents to send their children there as soon as possible.
After spending two weeks studying under a tent at the old school, some 23 students returned there to continue their studies with three retired teachers who had volunteered their services.
As the school was officially relocated, all its tables and chairs for the students had been taken away. However they have been replaced by square tables and plastic chairs.
Retired language teacher Murugasu, 67, teaches a group of primary pupils at Seaport Tamil Primary School at Jalan 7/4 Kelana Jaya on Jan 13, 2014. SUNPIX by ZULKIFLI ERSAL
PETALING JAYA (Jan 13, 2014): Is it possible for two schools to operate using the same name at different places?
Interestingly, this situation is occurring here with the Seaport Tamil Primary School functioning at two different premises.
A group of 24 pupils are studying under a white canopy beside the 94-year-old original school premises at Jalan 7/4 Kelana Jaya while 100 pupils are studying at the brand new school at Kg Lindungan along Jalan PJS 6/4.
The pupils are unable to use the old premises as it has been fenced off.
The problem began when the Education Ministry relocated the school to its new premises earlier this month with a few parents deciding to keep their children at the old premises due to claims that the new school was too far away from their homes.
School Parent-Teacher Association (PIBG) chairman V. Kumar, who is representing the smaller group, said it was important to retain pupils at the old school given its “historical value” and the emotional connection to it.
“The school has been operating since 1920 after the 1st World War. We haven’t come across any trouble or disruption at the old premises.
“Also, some parents feel that it will take too much time to send their children to the new school because of the traffic jam which starts as early as 6am,” he said when met here today.
He added the Selangor government has agreed to take over the old building if the Education Ministry provides the smaller group with a permit to run the school.
Deputy Education Minister P. Kamalanathan speaks with pupils of Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil Seaport during a visit to the school, January 15, 2014. BERNAMA
PETALING JAYA (Jan 15, 2014): Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (Tamil) Seaport has been relocated and not closed, the Education Ministry stated today.
Deputy Education Minister P. Kamalanathan said SJKT Seaport was now in Kampung Lindungan here and the number of Tamil schools in the country remained at 523.
He was responding to the news on several portals that 23 pupils of SJKT Seaport were attending classes under a tree on vacant land after the school was closed abruptly before the 2014 school session began.
Kamalanathan visited the school today at its new site and met with the parents and guardians of the pupils. Also present were Selangor education director Datuk Mahmud Karim and the headmaster of the school, M. Panginiammal.
The deputy minister said the school was relocated as it could not be upgraded at the previous site because the land was owned by several parties, including the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS).
“I wish to remind these people not to continue to spread false news. The school was not closed. It was relocated,” he said.
Seaport students in makeshift classrooms without electricity, water
The Malay Mail Online
PETALING JAYA, Jan 14 — They diligently send their children to SJK (T) Seaport, as if business was as usual.
The school has been relocated to a new site — a new building in Kampung Lindungan some 4km away. But the parents of 24 pupils remain defiant as they insist on staying put at the 80-year-old school.
Tomorrow, the students will start learning in classrooms, with no electricity and water.
There was only e volunteer teacher present yesterday, coaching Standard Six pupils.
P. Rajeswary, 34, who sends her sons Tanesh Lethuman, 12, and K. Gokulan, 10, to the old school, said she could not afford the tbus fare to the new building.
“The new school seems close by but school buses and vans are charging a minimum of RM120 per child per month. Some buses don’t even want to make the trip because of the morning traffic. The journey takes a minimum of one hour from my house in Section 4,” she said. …
Another parent, M. Ramachandran, 43, said he was forced to shift out from Kelana Jaya to Shah Alam following the fiasco.
“I wanted my daughter to study in a Tamil school. Since the new school is some distance away, we decided to enroll her at Midlands Tamil school in Shah Alam. As such, we have shifted to a housing area nearby,” he said.
But if Seaport reopens at its old location, he would send his daughter back to her former school.
“I just want justice served to the children and parents of the Tamil community. We have four Tamil schools in the area and they want to do away with it,” he said.
Photo: Kira-kira 20 pelajar SJK Tamil Seaport, Kelana Jaya bakal …
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Malaysiakini
5:00PM Jan 11, 2014
Parents to reopen Seaport school on their own
Parents who are fighting to keep the Seaport Tamil primary school at its original site in Kelana Jaya will be starting their own classes after the Selangor Education Department refused to provide teachers at the old building.
The announcement was made after a protest outside the school this afternoon in response to Deputy Education Minister P Kamalanathan’s insistence that they move to the new building at Kampung Lindungan some 9km away. …
“We have the textbooks, we have the tables; if the Education Ministry refuses to help us, we will start without them with the rakyat’s help,” said Malaysian Tamilan Today Welfare Association national secretary K Gunasekaran.
Gunasekaran – who is a former teacher – said he and other volunteer teachers can attend classes like normal which will start on Feb 15 after Ponggal, the Tamil New Year.
He added that the 24 students who have been attending classes under a tent next door will no longer do so and will move into the school premises despite it being closed down.
“This is a PKNS-owned land and the Selangor government has said that it is okay with the school, so I don’t see why we can’t use it,” he said. … Meanwhile, Malaysia Tamil School Boards president R Kannan (left) noted that the site where the students are supposed to moved to was initially named SJK (T) Kampung Lindungan when it was first completed, but later “hijacked” Seaport’s school name, and by extension its license, to exist.
“This is daylight robbery… the government should either give back Seaport its license or give the one in Kampung Lindungan a new license,” he said.
The parents are refusing to accept the Education Ministry’s relocation order on the 80-year-old Tamil school to a new block in Kampung Lindungan in Subang that has been given the same name, which they say is too far away and inconvenient for them.
The ministry had told the parents that the Kelana Jaya land, which belongs to state government body Selangor State Development Authority (PKNS), was been sold to a private developer, but land searches done by the parents reveal that the land is in the name of PKNS.
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Malaysiakini
12:27PM Jan 7, 2014
Selangor set to gazette land for Seaport school
The Selangor government would have “no problem” in gazetting the land owned by its state arm PKNS for the Seaport Tamil school’s original site in Petaling Jaya.
This will boost the battle by some 20 parents to preserve the school, which the Education Ministry has relocated to Kampung Lindungan.
State secretariat representative, NM Rajan, who was at the school this morning, said the state has agreed in principle to the exercise and would need to meet the school board and parents to settle the matter in the shortest possible time.
“I will try to arrange for a meeting with Halimah Ali, state exco member for education,” he told Malaysiakini after a meeting between the school, parents and the Selangor Education Department.
Rajan is also a special officer to Halimah.
However, the state Education Department was unable to provide a concrete solution to the problem, and insisted that the school will remain closed until parents can settle the issue of ownership of the land.
Some 20 students of the Seaport Tamil primary school (SJK Tamil Seaport) are spending their school days this year studying, on their own, under trees on the open ground as their parents demand the re-opening of the Kelana Jaya school that was abruptly shut down late last month.
The parents are refusing to accept the Education Ministry’s relocation order on the 80-year-old Tamil school to a new block in Kampung Lindungan in Subang that has been given the same name, which they say is too far away and inconvenient for them.
“If this school goes, there will be no vernacular Tamil school in Kelana Jaya and Lembah Subang at all,” school’s Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) chairperson V Kumar said today.
Pupils of SJK (T) Seaport in Kelana Jaya spend day outside their school
PETALING JAYA: Nearly 20 pupils of SJK (Tamil) Seaport in Kelana Jaya here ended up spending the day outside their school after it relocated to Kampung Lindungan despite objections by some of the parents.
No class: Some of the pupils standing outside SJK (Tamil) Seaport in Kelana Jaya.
While the entrance to the old building was locked, the pupils in their school uniforms and accompanied by their parents, played and ate in an empty area nearby.
There was no teacher in sight.
Parent-Teacher Association chairman Kumar Vanathan said the Education Ministry officials had promised to get feedback from parents, who are mainly from Kelana Jaya and Lembah Sumbang, before deciding on the relocation.
“But we could not contact the officials two weeks after the meeting,” he said yesterday, adding that they were notified by the headmaster on Dec 16 that the relocation had been confirmed.-thestar
PETALING JAYA (Feb 7, 2011): The Seaport Tamil School in SS7, Kelana Jaya, has been told to relocate as soon as possible to Kg Lindungan, PJS 6, where the state government has allocated a 0.6ha plot for it.
Seri Setia assemblyman Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said today the school’s Parent Teacher Association’s (PTA) earlier opposition to the move because the school was only given 0.44ha under the previous state administration has been addressed and there was no reason to delay the relocation.
“Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim allocated a 0.6ha plot of land for the school last November to the consent of the schools PTA and residents but construction work has yet to begin,” he said.
“The Public Works Department should build the school as soon as possible as the current location of the school is not conducive for students,” he added.
He said the new location would ease the parents’ burden as it is nearer in distance than the current school which is about 10km from Kg Lindungan.
He said the new location would allow the school to share the field of a nearby school.
Nik Nazmi also said the Selangor Development Corporation (PKNS) had donated RM 1.2 million for the school’s construction in 2008.
PETALING JAYA: The Petaling District Education Department is barring six Seaport Tamil School students from the UPSR examination because they have refused to attend classes at the new premises in Kampung Lindungan.
Retired language teacher Murugasu, 67, teaches a group of primary pupils at Seaport Tamil Primary School at Jalan 7/4 Kelana Jaya on Jan 13, 2014. SUNPIX by ZULKIFLI ERSAL
Deputy Education Minister P. Kamalanathan speaks with pupils of Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil Seaport during a visit to the school, January 15, 2014. BERNAMA
