Tamil school parents take matter to UN

B Nantha Kumar

 | February 21, 2014

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.

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