PARENTS’ DISTRUST
After the meeting on Saturday, a parent who declined to be named said she initially wanted to withdraw her five-year-old child from Kinderland at Woodlands Mart but is having second thoughts.
“He was so excited about all the upcoming events like sports day and the enrichment classes, but everything was stopped abruptly because of this incident, I really felt sorry for him,” she said.
“After today, I actually felt more assured because they have a new principal and the new principal, I believe is quite outspoken. So let’s see whether the words will be converted into actions, hopefully, yes.”
She told CNA that she asked Kinderland for compensation and was told that they would get back to her in a week. She also added that she plans to verify Kinderland’s claims with ECDA where possible because she does not fully trust the school.
“They keep giving us excuses and different kinds of stories,” she said.
A parent who gave his name as Mr Kang, 39, said his son was in one of the videos circulated online showing a child being hit with a book.
He said the school apologised to him in mid-August and told him that a teacher force-fed his son water. When he saw the video of his son getting hit this week, he questioned the school about it and was told that they apologised for both incidents in mid-August.
“I did not buy into that,” he said, adding that the discrepancy makes him wonder if more information was withheld or if other cases went undetected.
The former principal and another employee visited his family at home this week to address the situation.
He said his concerns – including whether whistleblowing in the organisation is effective – have not been fully addressed, but his son will remain in the school for now.
“Of course, there are logistics reasons, whether there are vacancies (in other schools). But I also think that after this incident, I feel that they will do a better job,” he said, adding that the school could now be more careful about hiring.
“Whether they will really do a better job, we have to wait and see the results.”