When I Was Young

Letter from Ho Kong Loon

I refer to “Excuse me, where are you going?” (April 2).

When school heads impose very strict and restrictive entry requirements into their premises, there are parents who would assail them for being paranoid and uncompromising about the pupils’ safety.

Some schools cave in to the relentless pressure brought upon them by vocal and demanding parents who insist on their right to drive right into the school driveway to drop off their kids, even when the weather is fine.

Someone with dishonourable motives could also make his/her way in.

At the beginning of each school year, parents descend en masse into the school compound. In this frenzy of parental anxiety, a “parent” with unsavoury intentions would not be readily and easily identified.

It is futile to wring one’s hands in despair, or talk eloquently albeit belatedly about enhanced security measures after a crime has been committed in the sanctuary of a school.

A school’s security network is as secure as its weakest link. Is there an accreditation body to ensure the security guards employed in schools are trustworthy with kids and diligent in their discharge of duties?


From TODAY, Voices
Friday, 03-April-2009