Perak: The Perak Education Department has instructed a school to prepare a full report concerning one of its teachers, who allegedly posted offensive remarks on social media about the recent tragic accident which claimed the lives of 15 Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) students, on the East-West Highway (JRTB).

According to BERNAMA News Agency, State Education, Higher Education, Youth and Sports Committee chairman Khairudin Abu Hanipah stated that a full report would be prepared by the principal of the secondary school involved, in accordance with the circulars issued by the Ministry of Education (MOE). Initial investigations confirmed that the Facebook account responsible for the insensitive post belonged to a teacher at the school.

Khairudin Abu Hanipah expressed his regret over the actions of the educator, emphasizing the inappropriateness of the remarks related to the tragic incident involving the UPSI students. Following the viral post, the District Education Office (PPD) promptly contacted the school principal, and the PPD counsellor reached out to the teacher to remove the content. A check conducted at 8.10 pm confirmed the post had been deleted.

The public outrage was sparked by a Facebook post under the name 'Khalid Yunus,' which alleged that the 15 UPSI students who died in the accident had 'died in disgrace' and claimed they were not among the faithful due to owing debt to the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN). The post has since been deleted, and the teacher involved issued a public apology, citing schizophrenia as a factor.

The tragic accident occurred early Monday morning when 15 UPSI students lost their lives as the bus they were travelling in overturned at KM53 of JRTB, near Tasik Banding, Gerik.