Unite to maintain school

I REFER to the letter entitled “Maintain premier schools” (StarEducation, Sept 18) and would like to express my opinion on some of the issues raised by the writer.
I am the father of a Form Six student studying at SMK Anderson, and I drop and pick up my daughter from the school every day.According to the writer, the physical condition of the school is not the same as it was 50 years ago.

In my opinion, there is no point lamenting the physical condition of a school which is 96 years old.

Can we compare the physical appearance of a 20-year-old with that of a 96-year-old?

I agree that the desks are old and worn but is this the fault of the principal or the teachers? I cannot even fault the government on this as it cannot allocate a large amount of money for just one school every year.

Next, the writer mentioned that the doors could not be closed because the hinges had been ripped out and that the paint on the wall was peeling off. Yes, that is true but the school was repainted just three years ago.

To me, the physical environment of SMK Anderson is not that bad. I also feel that the physical appearance of the school does not reflect the non-physical aspects and that we should not judge a book by its cover.

The principal has done his part – there is now a new building for the bookshop and the library is air-conditioned.

I agree that we have been so busy building new schools that we have allowed our old smart schools to rot. But who are the “we” here? The teachers, the principal, the administrators or the students?

It is not fair to say that the pride teachers, headmasters and administrators used to have in their work is gone – many teachers are still highly committed.

Instead of criticising, let us all contribute and give our support to upgrade the physical condition of the school.

MD NAVANATHAN DORAISAMY
Via e-mail

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