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Tuesday, August 18, 2009

H1N1 Update: Kisah Benar

A friend just related an unfortunate "Kisah Benar" episode in one of our Sekolah Kebangsaans in Jalan Gurney K.L.

It seems there was a Standard 4 student who was positively diagnosed for the A-H1N1 virus. Like the good Samaritan she was, the mother of the child went to her school and duly informed the headmistress of the news. She was concerned that other children in her daughter's class might have been exposed to the virus too.

Now that HM, being the good administrator she was, promptly went to the Education Ministry's office and reported the news to the person in charge. The response though was something like this: "Sorry, we can't do anything about that. You will have to put it in writing. Once we receive your letter, we will forward it to the Ministry of Health for further action. And, yes, you can give the affected pupils 50 marks."

Err...by the time the HM writes a letter and it gets forwarded to the MOH by the MOE, I don't know how many more children who might have fallen ill. And what's that about the 50 marks? 50 marks for not attending school? Or is it 50 marks for attending school despite being ill? Or 50 marks for exams not taken by ill students? Or .....what? The mind boggles!

With people like this at the front end of the MOE, isn't it any wonder then that our education system is going/gone to the dogs (with due respect to dogs everywhere)?

Contrast the reaction of the official at the MOE office with the stark reality of the federal government's declaration of a national health emergency today.

Isn't it any wonder then that the national average death rate for the A-H1N1 virus is 4 times the global average? Isn't it a reminder how third rate minds we have in a so-called first rate infrastructure nation?

Merdeka?

I think not....

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