It's Not the End
This article was written for the Feature Writing module Graded Assignment
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Danish Irfan after graduating from Nitec diploma in Business services with a perfect GPA of 4.0 PHOTO: DANISH IRFAN
He was at the bottom of a dark hole, but a teacher came to his rescue and now he is one of the top achievers in his school.
The "cream of the crop" was a phrase teachers would use to describe him. Danish Irfan, 20 had graduated from the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) 2 years ago with a GPA of 4.0. He was kind, understanding and hardworking. He was friends with everyone. He is his parent's biggest pride and every teacher's favorite type of student.
However, this perfect student was once expelled.
Similar to many, his long education journey started when he received his N level results, the same day dark clouds loomed over his head. Enrolled in Sembawang secondary school, Danish was a student from the normal academic stream. “I’m the type of person who doesn’t study at all during secondary school unless it was one week before exams,” he shared.
With his 18 points and the support of his parents, Danish followed his heart and chose to pursue his interest at ITE, Nitec in Business Services even though he was eligible for Higher Nitec and Secondary five. ITE was commonly known among locals for being an acronym for “it’s the end”.
"I always told him, wherever you are studying at, do the best in everything and always be good to those around you,” explained Danish’s father, Mr Ishak Bin Samad.
Danish with his family and Mr. Ishak Bin Samad (father) who is also a graduate from ITE. PHOTO: DANISH IRFAN
Joined Polytechnic Admissions Exercise (JPAE) is annually conducted by the five Polytechnics since 1992. This admission exercise allows ITE students from relevant Higher Nitec and Nitec diplomas to apply for a position at their polytechnic of choice.
Through JPAE, Danish, as a Nitec graduate managed to secure himself a spot at Republic Polytechnic. "I really believed in this problem-based learning." He is currently pursuing a diploma in consumer behavior and research. This is the rainbow after the storm, a storm he nearly could not survive.
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A convenient choice
It was just one year into his education at ITE, but a choice made by both Danish and his friend, Qushay Amir had landed them in lava hot water.
It was after his Physical Education (PE) lesson and their clothes were drowned in sweat. Fortunately for them, students needed to change back into their uniforms after the PE lesson.
As they entered the male toilet, a huge cloud of smoke engulfed them. Being non-smokers, both Danish and Jake could not help but cough at the choking cloud. "Everyone inside was smoking and vaping," he recalled.
Unable to tolerate the smell further, Danish and Amir made a decision – to change in the female toilet. It was only a few steps away from the male toilet, it was a convenient choice.
They were cautious. They knocked the toilet door several times, to check if there were any females inside the toilet before entering with slow careful steps.
After ensuring that the toilet was empty, Danish used a broom to lock the toilet door before they proceeded to change.
Unfortunately, without their knowledge, the broom had slipped out of place. Leaving the door unlocked. Soon enough, a female student entered. “She screamed super loud,” said Danish. The female student coincidently happened to be their classmate.
Soon after, a knock on the door could be heard followed by a voice demanding for them to exit the toilet. Upon exiting, they were greeted by seven security guards. “I was damn scared. I don’t know what to do.”
At the office, they were given two choices – for the case to be reported to the police or to be expelled immediately. They both chose the latter.
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Uphill slope
In his time as an expelled student, Danish spends his time eating, sleeping, and scrolling for fast jobs. This would have continued if not for the efforts of his form teacher – Ms. Puah Siew Kang. "She drafted out an official apology document for me to send to the director of the Business services for me."
She actually fought for my rights to continue studying, said Danish.
After one week, Danish and Amir were finally back in school. This would not have been possible without Ms. Puah and her efforts. "that act itself - going up to the management and fighting for me, it was very touching. It was one of the motivations for me to study even harder and prove to her that all the sacrifices that she has made for me were really worth it.
From then on, Danish did a 180 degrees change. He stopped skipping classes, he even joined his school community service club in hopes of giving back to the community more. There, he was appointed an executive member.
If she didn’t do that for us, both of us would be out working right now.”
- Danish Irfan, on Ms. Puah
As he progressed on to becoming a student in Republic Polytechnic, he has participated in numerous competitions and even brought home a handful of awards. “Rp really wants students to grab opportunities when we can. So, I did.”
Danish was one out of two students from his diploma who was awarded the REPUBLIC award for students who exhibit good character. PHOTO: DANISH IRFAN
Mike Goh, a friend of Danish’s since 2016 added, “he is someone who helps his peers a lot, he’s very proactive in helping people.”
Today, Danish is in the executive committee of the School of Management and Communication (SMC) club as the head of admin. He is also in the Director’s roll of honour for his excellent GPA.
He has set his sight on becoming a regional manager in Asia pacific after completing his studies.
“Yes, the (ITE) route may be longer, but you’ll gain so much more.”