Penang DCM asks to meet with education minister on SK Assumption closure
Alumni, parents and students hold a peaceful protest in front of Sekolah Kebangsaan Assumption in Bagan Dalam, Butterworth February 2, 2022. ― Picture by Sayuti Zainudin
SEBERANG PERAI, Feb 2 — Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy has asked for a meeting with Senior Education Minister Datuk Mohd Radzi Md Jidin to discuss the imminent closure of SK Assumption in Butterworth.
The Penang lawmaker wrote an official letter to the ministry on January 31 asking for a formal meeting to discuss the possibility of postponing the closure of the school.
In the letter to the minister, Ramasamy said the state government has discussed the closure of the school with the school and the state is weighing its options on how to save the 90 years old school from being permanently shut down.
“SK Assumption has produced many successful students over the years and is one of the educational institutions in Penang that is rich with history and heritage,” he said.
He hoped the ministry will at least postpone its decision to close the school unit the end of the school year of 2022.
“I am willing to meet with the minister to discuss a solution for this issue at a suitable time and date, convenient to him,” he said.
About 50 people, consisting of the parents of SK Assumption students and former students, held a peaceful gathering in front of the school this morning.
Ramasamy and Bagan Dalam assemblyman M. Satees were also present at the gathering.
According to the Save Assumption School Joint Task Force media liaison, Vernon Fernandez, the education ministry gave notice to the school to be closed by February 28.
The ministry had attributed the main reason for the closure to the landowner, Sri Avenue Sdn Bhd, wanting the premises back.
“I have in hand a letter from the landowner, Sri Avenue Sdn Bhd, giving a grace period of a year for the stakeholders to find a solution. What then is the Ministry of Education's excuse to close the school?” Vernon asked.
He claimed the ministry had issued the notice to close the school on short notice without proper consultation with the parents and other stakeholders.
“This is unfair to the landowner and even more so to the students and parents who have to relocate thus affecting their studies and causing undue mental anguish,” he said.
He said the taskforce has written to the ministry four times to ask for a dialogue session on this issue but the ministry had not responded.
“We only have four demands; that the ministry immediately retract the instruction to close the school, that the ministry immediately approves the formation of a board of governors, that the ministry stands by its letters dated September 5 in 2013 and October 22 in 2018 that there was no intention to close the school and that the ministry enters into direct negotiations with the landowner and stakeholders to come up with a solution for the continuity of the school,” he said.
Satees later told a brief press conference that he hoped the minister will meet with Ramasamy to resolve the issue for the sake of the students in the school.
“If he still refuses to meet, next, we will arrange to hold a peaceful gathering in Putrajaya to make sure they take note of this issue,” he said.
SEBERANG PERAI, Feb 2 — Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy has asked for a meeting with Senior Education Minister Datuk Mohd Radzi Md Jidin to discuss the imminent closure of SK Assumption in Butterworth.
The Penang lawmaker wrote an official letter to the ministry on January 31 asking for a formal meeting to discuss the possibility of postponing the closure of the school.
In the letter to the minister, Ramasamy said the state government has discussed the closure of the school with the school and the state is weighing its options on how to save the 90 years old school from being permanently shut down.
“SK Assumption has produced many successful students over the years and is one of the educational institutions in Penang that is rich with history and heritage,” he said.
He hoped the ministry will at least postpone its decision to close the school unit the end of the school year of 2022.
“I am willing to meet with the minister to discuss a solution for this issue at a suitable time and date, convenient to him,” he said.
About 50 people, consisting of the parents of SK Assumption students and former students, held a peaceful gathering in front of the school this morning.
Ramasamy and Bagan Dalam assemblyman M. Satees were also present at the gathering.
According to the Save Assumption School Joint Task Force media liaison, Vernon Fernandez, the education ministry gave notice to the school to be closed by February 28.
The ministry had attributed the main reason for the closure to the landowner, Sri Avenue Sdn Bhd, wanting the premises back.
“I have in hand a letter from the landowner, Sri Avenue Sdn Bhd, giving a grace period of a year for the stakeholders to find a solution. What then is the Ministry of Education's excuse to close the school?” Vernon asked.
He claimed the ministry had issued the notice to close the school on short notice without proper consultation with the parents and other stakeholders.
“This is unfair to the landowner and even more so to the students and parents who have to relocate thus affecting their studies and causing undue mental anguish,” he said.
He said the taskforce has written to the ministry four times to ask for a dialogue session on this issue but the ministry had not responded.
“We only have four demands; that the ministry immediately retract the instruction to close the school, that the ministry immediately approves the formation of a board of governors, that the ministry stands by its letters dated September 5 in 2013 and October 22 in 2018 that there was no intention to close the school and that the ministry enters into direct negotiations with the landowner and stakeholders to come up with a solution for the continuity of the school,” he said.
Satees later told a brief press conference that he hoped the minister will meet with Ramasamy to resolve the issue for the sake of the students in the school.
“If he still refuses to meet, next, we will arrange to hold a peaceful gathering in Putrajaya to make sure they take note of this issue,” he said.
The irony is that the majority of the last remaining batch of students of SK Assumption are Malays.
ReplyDeleteSo, the neglect by Kerajaan Allah towards the survival of what looks like a Mission School (fuck, let it die) hurts Malay students the most.