The Penang Education Department said on 13 Nov it is investigating an allegation that a teacher repeatedly slapped, pinched and insulted a Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia candidate at a school in Kubang Semang, after a complaint from the student’s family, the New Straits Times reported.
State education director Mohamad Dziauddin Mat Saad, in remarks carried by Bernama, said the department had received the complaint and directed the district education office for the area to carry out an investigation and prepare recommendations for further action and resolution.
“The district Education Office met with the student and family this afternoon. The Education Department will also extend its cooperation to the relevant authorities,” he said in a statement.
Education Minister Datuk Seri Fadhlina Sidek had earlier asked the state department to act quickly. “I have asked the state Education Department to investigate immediately,” she wrote in a reply on Threads, as quoted by Kosmo. Her comment came after a parent’s post appealing to her for help.
That post said the student at SMK Penanti was slapped and pinched repeatedly, leaving bruises, and humiliated by a teacher over poor results in Principles of Accounting. The family lodged a police report on 12 Nov, Harian Metro noted, and the post said the school principal and the senior assistant for student affairs were present when the matter was taken to the police.
The parent also claimed the episode had shaken the student’s confidence, left the teenager afraid to attend school and that the student had expressed a reluctance to sit the examination, which begins next week.
Dziauddin added that the department’s immediate priority is to provide socio-emotional guidance and counselling to the student, to help with preparations for the examination. He said support from every side would help keep a positive atmosphere and perception of the education system.
He urged all parties to work together in supporting a safe environment for both students and teachers, particularly as candidates for SPM 2026 enter the final phase of their preparations.
The SPM is the national school-leaving examination sat by Form Five students, and the results are used for entry into pre-university courses and tertiary study.
The district education office’s recommendations have not been made public, and the department has not said whether the teacher has been reassigned while the investigation runs. The teacher has not been named.
