Condemn abusive school officials

That a school in Bicol burns students’ bags for not complying with a “no-bag” order during a school activity (News, 8/18/18) is abominable.

What abusive school authorities, to subject the bags to outright burning without any due process. What a whimsical and immature act on the part of the school to destroy things that do not belong to them in the first place. Did the act of bringing in bags to school, on a “no-bag” day, cause chaos beyond tolerable levels?

It’s a brazen act of power tripping, whatever “sane” reason there may be, on the part of the school management. And since the items were in the possession of minors, why not call first the attention of the parents or guardians, who, in the first place, were the source of the items?

Sadly, due process, common sense and wisdom seem to be passé these days. If these values are not manifested among leaders of institutions of learning, what lesson do we impart to the young generation of today?

It is high time for the Department of Education to conduct an automatic review of all policies contained in the student’s handbook of private schools. Do these policies perhaps violate the basic human right of students to be heard and accorded due process? Also, how relevant are some school policies to present conditions?

The school environment is supposed to germinate good values among students. Maximum tolerance should be the rule of thumb. No student is innately bad. And when school officials grossly misbehave, what acceptable behavior could we expect from today’s young generation?

BELEN DOCENA-ASUELO, [email protected]