KUALA LUMPUR:Students' compliance to standard operating procedure (SOP) after school hours is not the responsibility of the teachers, says National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general, Harry Tan.

Tan lambasted at parties who questioned the teachers' whereabouts in monitoring the students after school hours, and stressed that parents are the ones who should bring their children home safely.

"Matters between teachers and students begin at the main gate and end at the same spot according to the fixed time," he told Bernama today, when asked to comment on an opinion piece by a reader of a local newspaper published yesterday (Monday).

The writer had questioned the teachers' presence after school hours in controlling and monitoring students’ compliance to SOP.

Tan said it was unfair to punish the educators on matters which are beyond their scope of duty.

In addition to teaching, he said teachers' tasks have become more challenging in the wake of COVID-19 as they have to carry out SOP related works, besides handling students' discipline issues.

-- BERNAMA