By Julia Chan

KOTA KINABALU, MALAYSIA: Like many students, Pilatus Sahajiman and Malccolm Edvin hated examinations.

But they never thought that they could get out of sitting one, especially one as important as the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR).

The boys, now 15, did not sit their UPSR three years ago because their principal was apparently worried that they would bring down the school's overall performance.

The principal is alleged to have advised their parents to withdraw them from the examination; as a result, the boys today face many problems because they do not have a UPSR certificate.

Pilatus' parents, Sahajiman Baran-ting and Juliah Agok, blame themselves and the school principal for their son's problems now.

"Three years ago, I was called for a meeting with my son's teachers. The principal later called me and three other parents into his room for a private discussion.

"In the principal's office, we were told that our children were academically weak and that if they were to sit the UPSR, it would bring down the school's overall performance and humiliate the school.

"At the time, I was unsure of the principal's intention and was a bit dumbfounded at his suggestion that we 'willingly' withdraw our children from the examination," said Juliah.

She said she respected the principal due to his position and thought that his action was based on government policy.

"I thought he would want what was best for my child. He also said that he was recording our conversation for future reference. I felt really bad and confused at the time," she said.

Sahajiman, a self-employed farmer from Ranau, a district at the foothills of Mount Kinabalu, said as a result, their son was not registered for the UPSR and he subsequently lost interest in school.

"He went to secondary school but was constantly asked for his UPSR result slip, which he did not have. He also could not get school books as he couldn't provide the UPSR slip," Sahajiman told the New Straits Times.

Pilatus, who sat silently throughout the interview, occasionally nodded his head.

He quit school two years ago, after struggling through Form One, and now follows his uncle to a workshop every day and helps with odd jobs like cleaning machinery and washing tractors. He doesn't earn a salary and he has no ambitions. He cannot get a proper job as he is underage.

"This isn't how I imagined my son would be at 15. He should be in school, studying and creating a future for himself. But, he has completely lost interest in studying and has no self-confidence at all," said Sahajiman.

Samson Edvin, a general assistant with a people's development leaders unit, was among the parents called to the principal's office three years ago.

Like Pilatus, his son Malccolm also did not meet the principal's "qualification requirements" for the UPSR.

"It was hard to accept and we didn't know what to do or think. It was only later that we realised the seriousness of the situation and after speaking to many people, I realised that the principal did not have the right to take away our child's right to sit the examination," said Edvin.

His son, Malccolm, is still in school at Edvin's insistence.

"Ever since the day of the meeting, my son has been suffering from low self-esteem and stress. He is ridiculed by his teachers and classmates. As a father, I feel betrayed by the principal's actions and embarrassed that I let him talk me into it," Edvin said.

Both Sahajiman and Edvin have submitted a report to the state Education Department through Inanam state assemblyman Johny Goh. In the report, they called for action to be taken against the principal.

The Education Department acknowledged receiving the report and said that investigations were under way.

Goh said it was unfair that the children were not allowed to sit the examination as their parents had worked hard to send them to school.

"If they are weak in their studies, they should be given guidance and motivation. It is unfair to crush their hopes and potential when they are so young," he said.

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