Primary school teacher investigated for abusive punishment of students

SINGAPORE — Several parents, unhappy with how a maths and science teacher was disciplining students in Gongshang Primary School, have lodged complaints with the school and the Ministry of Education (MOE).

According to the parents, the female teacher from the school in Tampines — who has been relieved of her teaching duties and cannot be named as investigations into the case are still ongoing — had resorted to abusive punishment of her students in the classes she taught.

The punishments ranged from the students being called names, having to kneel beside the teacher’s table, and getting objects thrown at them.

Parents TODAY spoke to say this happened from as early as March this year. The teacher also called students who had forgotten to bring their science textbooks “a bunch of retarded monkeys”, said Ms Karen Tan, whose Primary 5 son was among the forgetful students.

The 42-year-old accountant added that her son, who has high myopia, had to constantly walk nearer to the whiteboard during lessons in class.

The teacher was said to have told the boy: “Too bad you can’t see. Go get new spectacles.”

To other students who did the same thing, she allegedly said: “Don’t you have the money to get new ones?”

In another incident that occurred before the school holidays in June, the teacher is said to have made a classmate of Ms Tan’s son sit on the floor beside her.

The student, whom Ms Tan said was “a little more playful than the rest”, was a little disruptive, and in an apparent fit of anger, the teacher allegedly threw a whiteboard marker at the boy’s head.

Ms Tan noted that while other teachers of the Primary 5 class lectured the students, only this teacher punished them to such an extent.

Ms Josephine Chua, whose son is also in the same class, told TODAY that the students often “have to dodge, because they never know what is going to get thrown their way”.

The 43-year-old homemaker said another parent had told their child’s form teacher about the teacher’s actions in March, while the science head of department was informed about the matter in April.

Ms Chua and her husband met the school’s management on Monday to discuss the teacher’s case.

TODAY understands that on Tuesday, the school sent out a circular to parents and students to inform them that the teacher had been transferred to teach non-core subjects in the school, such as art and social studies, with effect from the same day.

Her classes have been taken over by other teachers, and she is also no longer the form teacher of her class.

Mr George Cheah, the school’s vice-principal (administration), told TODAY: “The school takes any misconduct of our teachers very seriously. After receiving the parents’ feedback, the school leaders met the parents to understand their concerns.

“Our students’ welfare remains our top priority.”

Ms Chua told TODAY that the school’s decision “belittles the severity of the abuse”, and that the parents hope the teacher will be transferred out of the school, and into a non-teaching role.

Both Ms Chua and Ms Tan said they had met the teacher before during the parent-teacher sessions held before the June holidays. They described her as “patient, soft-spoken” and “cordial”.

The teacher’s alleged actions have also been detailed in a blog about motherhood, Mother Inc.

In response to TODAY’s queries, an MOE spokesperson said: “Teachers who fail to comply with our standards of conduct and discipline will be subjected to disciplinary action.

“The teacher has been relieved of her teaching duties while investigations are ongoing.”