The graduation ceremony is one of the most important highlights in a student’s life as it marks the end of their school/campus life, before venturing into another level of education or into the working society. For a primary school, is it considered too much to hold the graduation ceremony at a high-end seafood restaurant?

A primary school in Johor Bahru recently found itself under fire when one of the parents expressed her concern about the location of the ceremony as it was tough for some of the families to pay the fees. Here’s what they had to pay.

• RM80 per pax, including the graduating student
• RM80 for collective funds

As both parents attended the graduation ceremony, they had to fork out RM360 just for the event which was held at Pekin Restaurant, a high-end seafood restaurant in Skudai, Johor.

“As parents, we wanted to see our child graduating. So we decided to pay and attended the ceremony.”

But what about the other parents who also couldn’t afford it?

In a Facebook post, the same parent pondered on the fate of other families who found it tough to pay the necessary amount to attend the ceremony, which will be held on 11 February 2023.

“What about the others who really couldn’t afford to pay the amount? Do you mean the student don’t get to attend the graduation ceremony? This really pisses me off!”

The anonymous parent also emphasised that the graduation ceremony is important for the students as it is one of their happiest moments.

“Don’t ruin their happiness just for your personal gain!” the parent reiterated.

 

The school responds

In response to the anonymous complaint, the chairman of the Parents & Teacher’s Association, Wu, said that in previous years, the school would have sponsored about 10 students whose families couldn’t afford to pay. He also said that hosting the graduation ceremony outside of school does not imply that they’re making extra money, in fact, they spent more than their allocated budget just to allow the students to leave with good memories. 

Wu also said that since 2014, the school has been hosting a graduation ceremonies in other places but not the school itself, and they had never received any complaints from the parents.

“We also provided transportations for the students who couldn’t travel to the event location,” Wu added.

In terms of the RM80 collective funds, Wu clarified that the school has stated in the announcement that it was optional, as reported by e-Nanyang.

Regardless, do you think it’s wise to host a graduation ceremony for primary school students in high-end restaurants? Do you think they should’ve utilised the school hall instead?

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