In my previous letters published in malaysiakini I had written about the administrators and teachers at the state, district and school levels who sabotage the national education system by implementing practices and policies that are detrimental to the Education Ministrys objectives of nurturing racial harmony and integration among our school children.

One would expect teachers, being practitioners of a noble profession and having studied child psychology at teaching colleges, to show patience, compassion and understanding toward our young ones.

We count on them to nurture and mould their charges to be responsible citizens free from shackles of racial and religious bias and misconceptions of the older generations. Unfortunately, this has not always been the case.

Some teachers have been abusing their power and position to mistreat and discriminate the students while others are shockingly cruel and insensitive to the needs of these young ones. It is hard to give a figure on the number of administrators and teachers involved and it is likely that their number is (hopefully) still small. However, unless these saboteurs are exposed and very firmly dealt with, the damage to our education system and the nation will be incalculable and irreparable.

I highlight several true cases of such behaviour in the hope that my exposoutsiders. The school only began POL classes this year when further pressured by the state education department.

Another principal invests far more time and effort in media-friendly social welfare activities than managing her secondary school or ensuring that the students get a proper education. One annual activity she organises without fail is presenting gifts to orphans and physically disabled persons.

Last year one of her students was diagnosed with cancer and had both of his legs amputated. But the amputation did not help and the disease subsequently spread to his lungs, leaving him with just a few more months to live. The boy wanted to continue attending school. Acting on the dying boy's wish, one of the doctors visited the principal to ask for her co-operation. He also requested that the boy's class be shifted from the third level to the ground floor as it would be difficult for the boy to negotiate the stairs using crutches. Both requests were turned down. The boy has since passed away. The principal neither attended the funeral nor visited the family to convey her condolences.

At the same school, the principal and the afternoon session supervisor constantly harass the students and the teachers to donate for numerous charities. Most of the students are from low-income families and cannot afford to donate the required amount. Once, the afternoon session supervisor, disappointed at not being able to hit the target, summoned these students to the staff room, searched their pockets and forcibly took whatever money found on them. Many of the kids had to forego their meals for that day.

Hindu students of a national secondary school were warned not to wear the vibuthi (holy ash) on their foreheads. The students refused to budge as there was no such directive or regulation from the Education Ministry. Infuriated, the school principal took it upon herself to personally erase the vibuthi off the students' foreheads. Enraged parents took up this matter to higher authorities and the principal in question was found guilty and subsequently transferred to another school.

These are just a few examples and I could go on and on. The general impression of the public is that the school students today are ill-disciplined and disrespectful toward teachers. While it may be true that the level of discipline and respect for teachers has degenerated alarmingly over the years, most of the students victimised are the obedient ones as the teachers often leave the troublemakers alone, fearing retaliation. These victims are more often than not from minority groups with low income and literacy levels.

Although there are strict guidelines concerning caning at school, some of these teachers wield the cane and dish out punishments too easily and brutally. Scores of students have been suspended or even expelled from school thus destroying their future. It is no wonder that many of these students end up as criminals or gangsters.

While some would attribute this behaviour to stress brought about by disciplinary problems and heavy workload, there is absolutely no excuse for these teachers to channel their frustrations on innocent students. I find it hard to fathom the reasons these teachers could be so pitiless and insensitive toward their students.

It is frightening t to envisage what kind of citizens our school children will grow up to be after undergoing such a traumatic school life under these Taliban teachers. The only way we could put them out of circulation is by standing up for our rights and exposing these rogue teachers.

Parents must pursue this matter with the relevant authorities until justice is served and this educational terrorism is put to an end.