A photo of a young student squatting, forced to eat on the floor as his schoolmate’s parents took up all seats in the school canteen has been causing an outrage on Malaysian social media.
“The canteen chair is the right of the student. It is where students sit down to eat,” teacher Mohd Fadil wrote in a lengthy Facebook post, reports Channel News Asia.
“It is not for parents to sit down and tend to their own children, depriving other students of the space,” he added.
The student squatting while eating lunch was all alone, without a friend…
Fuming, Fadil wrote that the poor child was all alone without a friend.
Less than 48 hours since it was uploaded, Fadil’s post garnered nearly 14,000 shares and over 2,000 comments on Facebook.
Most of the comments were messages of outrage, while others said they were no longer surprised that this happened.
The student squatting was wearing his school uniform (Screenshot from Mohd Fadli Salleh’s Facebook post)
According to Fadil, it is common for parents to accompany their kids to school at the beginning of the year.
These are parents who want to help their kids buy food or calculate their bill in the canteen.
“Parents, imagine your children not being able to eat during their break,” Fadil appealed to parents in his post. “The children come back from school complaining that they are hungry because canteen seats were full due to visiting parents.”
“Surely you will be angry and sad?” he continued, adding that parents should give up seats or simply stand near the table.
In closing, Fadil also appealed to his fellow teachers to help put a stop to this inconsiderate behaviour.
You can read Fadil’s post written in Malay here.
The importance of generosity, even in simple everyday encounters
It is quite saddening to see the little student squatting on the floor while surrounded by grown-ups who paid no attention to him.
Some would argue that Fadil should not have shamed the parents, even though he did blur out their images. The viral post however sheds light on how important it is for mums and dads to be more considerate of each and every child they come across.
All children must be treated fairly and with kindness, even when it comes to something as simple as eating their school lunch comfortably and with dignity.
source: Channel News Asia
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