PIBG...

This is a season for PIBG meetings in schools here... so I get to hear more about it these couple of weeks.

A friend of mine was telling me about her son's PIBG or PTA meeting. The teachers in the school always hope that less parents show up. And they try to make their Q & A time as short as possible. Why? The general perception is parents always demand and complain too much. But there are many parents who will still go much to their chagrin. LOL!

Then there are schools which would go to great measures to entice parents to come. This one uses 'baits' to get parents to come. They'd give out rice, bicycles, cooking oil as lucky draw parents to attend. I'm not sure whether the parents are there because they want to contribute to the meeting or hope to win something from the lucky draw.

In another school, they send out these letters through the students to confirm whether a parent is coming. If they don't come, the parents have to pay (say RM5) in lieu of their attendance. This is an easy way to raise funds for the PIBG fund. This one is like making parents pay penalty for not showing that they care about their children. LOL!

And of course there are also schools which let things take their natural course. Let the parents decide themselves. No coercion or veiled forcing ...

So what is the role of the PIBG in our schools? Basically they dole out the money collected to buy stuff that the school needs. Sometimes, a parent may volunteer their help to do something for the school... but this is quite rare. Once in a blue moon, the parents will participate in school activities like a gotong-royong. I think parents are generally too busy to attend PIBG meetings. Anyway, the one who ends up being the Chairman is usually the one with either wealth or position.

Then there are schools' with PIBG which will subsidize the teachers for trips... usually as a reward because the school did well in the public examinations. For teachers in such schools, at least the PIBG show appreciation of their effort. Again this one is also rare... this one is usually found in Chinese schools. In many schools, it's the other way round.... PIBG expects the teachers to donate their time and give extra classes. It is after all charitable, so they say.....