This year-end task of schools has been highlighted in the news since an MOE scholar was convicted of downloading child pornography. It has been the usual perception that teachers write out the students' testimonials in their report books but it is true that students have the opportunity to contribute to their own testimonials too. One of my ex-students asked me how to go about doing his. However, I believe that the students' drafts are edited by the teachers before being entered into the school's database. Thus, the students are not the sole and final creators of their testimonials.
The content of the testimonials is a debatable issue. Should it exude objectivity in containing both the achievements and the offences of the students? The accepted notion is for only the former to be included. I personally feel both should be part of the testimonials, though the latter can be accompanied by the fact that conversion has occurred. The problem with the present notion is that lists of affirming phrases are given to the teachers as they edit the students' drafts and some teachers even attempt to give false impressions of delinquent students. I am not condemning the intention to give our youth a chance to go further in life. This must be done with truth and a clear conscience.
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