Teachers have to be honest with themselves and do their part too.

If nothing is done about bad teachers, the good ones might exercise the exit policy and opt for the private sector where it is more lucrative, what with the mushrooming of international and private schools and tuition centres, and home-schooling becoming an alternative and popular learning choice.

For most people, education is the best way out of poverty. Return to our students their right to a proper education.

As an extension of the exit policy, the Ministry of Education could offer a voluntary separation scheme to teachers with a poor attendance record. Get rid of them rather than allow the malaise to spread and rob students and their families of a better life. Replace them with inspiring teachers.

Imagine a student walking an hour and a half to school, where there is no path or public transport, only to find no teacher when he arrives. Who is to blame? What can parents do if they are not literate and cannot afford to find out whether the teacher had to attend to regular, non-classroom administrative duties or was simply negligent, backed by a local politician who helped appoint the teacher in the first place?

Kes seperti ni sedikit sebanyak menjatuhkan reputasi guru di mata pelajar.

Well, you go girl! No student should ever be denied their right to receive education, especially if they are already going to an educational institution.

Heck, even the Education Ministry apparently gave f*** all to the 18-year-old's complaints.

Enforce exit policy for absent teachers, strip them of their pension.

Only the poor, silent and long-suffering students will ever know the neglect they suffered and for how long more the teacher continued to be absent with little or no conscience.

This may well be the landmark case that aggrieved parents, including teachers who are parents, are waiting for.

A teacher’s role as an educator is to mentor and nurture students as well as become good role models. Shame on this teacher, who has instead tarnished the good reputation of the profession.

This is not an unfamiliar scenario in schools, not only in Sabah, but also in peninsular Malaysia, and it has been ignored or neglected for too long.

They show no dedication nor commitment being guaranteed their monthly salaries and worse, not facing any action for their absence even a long period.

This lawsuit by the Sabah student is timely and should be looked at as a test case for all parents and students to take legal action when their complaints are not looked into.

It should pave the way for more lawsuits to be filed against teachers, schools and principals over such neglect and lack of discipline by those who have the responsibility to teach the future generations of Malaysia.

The Pakatan Harapan-led government cannot ignore this situation, and should instead use it as a motivation to clean up all the weaknesses in the Education Ministry.

The time is now. There is no need for more reviews on what is going on. Just enforce every possible avenue available to the ministry and the state education departments.