from BT Kojak
to
KCPPS@moe.edu.sg
cc
HO_PENG@moe.gov.sg,
LU_CHENG_YANG@moe.gov.sg,
CHAN_TEE_MIANG@moe.gov.sg,
WONG_SIEW_HOONG@moe.gov.sg,
GRACE_FU@moe.gov.sg,
S_ISWARAN@moe.gov.sg,
NG_ENG_HEN@moe.gov.sg
date Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 3:19 AM
subject “Blackmailing” of students to watch YOG
mailed-by gmail.com
MR CHUA KOK YONG CLIFFORD
PRINCIPAL
KUO CHUAN PRESBYTERIAN PRIMARY SCHOOL
Dear Sir,
I’m referring to your recent act of “forcing” students to pay $5 deposits in order to ensure that they go watch YOG and your subsequent explanation you gave to the press. You may be interested to know that many netizens are not buying into your explanation:
http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/0...ry-principal-admits-to-blackmailing-students/
Here are some online comments about you and MOE with regard to your act:
mozp: I find the statement of the principal contradicting.
- penalty of $5 if student did not turn up. to teach student to be responsible.
- penalty of $5 will be refunded anyway even if the student did not turn up because students tend not to value things anyway.
- sch implemented $5, students who abided the rule get the money back, students who don’t also get the money back…what kind of message is the sch trying to bring across?
sicktothebones: If there was such an `overwhelming’ response then there is no need to fear non-attendance and impose this $5 blackmail. If there was such `overwhelming’ response why are the stadiums half empty? Obviously there is no mystery here – you `force’ disinterested students to go by giving away free tickets – they won’t turn up.
Equally Puzzled: Yes, the statement made by the principal is very contradicting indeed. So in future, the students will know that whether they turn up for an event or not, they will still get back the deposit. So what’s the point of turning up if they are not interested?
Andrew Chen: What a convoluted reasoning from the Principal… Jeez
shsh: Stupid answer by the principal. What kind of educators do we have? Who do you think pays the money? It’s the parents not the students. You’re in fact forcing the parents to send the kids to support the YOG. $5 is only valuable to the students if the parents don’t give it to them.
FeverGuy: This is a christian school with a non-christian way of teaching kids about the meaning of value. Principal is a screwed up!
LIONS ROAR: Instead of teaching ETHICS in schools, principals are doing the exact opposite. The pupils should be encouraged if the principal wants their participation but not coerced in this manner. School bullies will surely pick up the nuances and start extorting from weak/meek students and then who’s to blame? Bad approach,really bad approach.
Darth Vader: The school SHOULD NOT have collect the deposit but give incentives at door for those attending. Anything that has the element of compulsion or to give effect of compulsory is unlawful application of administrative law powers. If this happens in Australia or Canada, you risk lawsuits from parents for obtaining financial benefits by deception. There is no obligation to attend and if they failed to attend, you can’t confiscate the money because it is private property. Confiscating private property in the line of official duty risks offense of law called “larceny”.
CCB: Oh PLEASE, gimme me a break. Mr. Chua, you are the one that is behaving IRRESPONSIBLY! What kind of values are you imparting ? That it is perfectly fine to coerce, force or threaten in order to get the results you want ?? Are you the direct descendant of Emperor Qing? And if students who eventually failed to turn up will still get their deposit back? Again, what kind of value in this sort of nonsense? That money can be easily changed hands without any form of commitment?? Whatever this Mr. Chua said doesn’t make sense at all and shows how easy it is for a daft to become a principal. He is such a disgrace !!
enlightened: if this is what our leaders are resorting to, our education system has failed. not for the kids, but the education system the principal went through. shows he has NOT be taught responsibility, to stand up for himself, doesn’t have integrity and is honest. failure from top down.
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.
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?
Principal Extraordinaire: How could he be a principal when he cannot even be sure that 100 amongst his total students are responsible enough to turn up when given free tickets. No calibre. Indeed, worrying to send kids there, to a school where the principal resorts to such tricks of bluffing the students, through a scheme. How could he transmit the good Christian values to the students when he, as a leader of the school, tells a ‘white lie’. He does not deserve nor qualify to be given such an important job as Principal of a Presbyterian School. First, he is no role model of the very values the school is to transmit and teach students to be responsible. Second, he is telling the students it is OK to tell lies. Thirdly, he is teaching students to scheme around. Fourthly, he still had not realised his mistake and be repentant of what he had done, and despite all, had not apologised to the parents and students alike. For, in the first place, not only he had no confidence of his flock, right form the beginning, he had NO Trust in the very students and charges assigned to him, and whom he had nurtured. What more can he do? This Principal should be replaced immediately, for the sake of the school, the teachings of Christianity, the students and the teachers.
I don’t have to say further. You should really be ashamed of yourself to have come out with such a harebrained scheme in the first place and later trying to backpedal by giving some “bizarre” and illogical explanations to cover your tracks. I think you really owe the public an apology!
Yours sincerely,
Kojakbt