Whistleblowing Policy

Whistleblowing

 This policy provides the whistle-blower with an official channel to bring the matter to the attention of the relevant personnel.

All Board of Directors (BOD) and staff are expected to maintain high standards of professional and personal ethics, honesty, and integrity in carrying out their duties and responsibilities. They are to conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times to bring credit to and enhance the image of the school.

Whistleblowing is the act of reporting wrongdoing in an organization to the appropriate authorities. Examples of such wrongdoing include but are not limited to acts relating to unlawful conduct, financial malpractice and fraud, criminal violation of prevailing laws, rules, and regulations, conflicts of interest, non- compliance of the company’s internal controls and procedures, unauthorized disclosure of information, abuse of authority for personal gain and discrimination and intimidation of staff in the course of work. This policy provides a channel for BOD, staff, or external parties to bring to the attention of the Authorised Personnel any misdeed or impropriety committed.

Genuine concerns about wrongdoing should be raised at the earliest opportunity, and in an appropriate way.

The Authorised Personnel at Table 1 shall investigate all concerns raised. To ensure a fair and objective investigation, the Authorised Personnel may conduct preliminary or more extensive, detailed investigations of the whistleblower allegations. In some cases, appropriately skilled and experienced investigators as well as independent investigation resources may be used.independent investigation resources may be used.

Table 1: Authorised Personnel

+ To involve Estab Com Rep appointed by the Chairman of the SST Board of Directors if serious

* To inform MOE HQ through the Cluster Superintendent

All concerns should be raised in writing via email to the Authorised Personnel. The information to be provided should contain the following, where possible, to enable the alleged wrongful practice and misconduct to be investigated:

a) nature and description of the alleged wrongful practice or misconduct (including the date, time and place where the alleged wrongful practice occurred);

b) name of staff alleged to have committed the wrongful practice or misconduct; and

c) any other useful information or evidence to support the report.

The whistleblower may be kept informed of the progress of the investigation and where possible, the final outcome subject to any legal and confidentiality constraints. All documents relating to the investigation will be kept by the Human Resource Manager at the end of the case.

The policy is designed to enable directors, staff, and external parties to raise concerns in good faith, and the following safeguards are put in place to facilitate the process:

Protection

The school shall protect the whistleblower and ensure that he/she will not be victimized, discriminated, harassed, or disciplined. However, the same protection will not be extended to someone who maliciously raises a matter they know to be untrue.

Confidentiality

Whistleblowers are encouraged to disclose their identity when reporting concerns and providing information. The identity of the whistleblower and the concerns raised together with all information shall be treated with the strictest confidentiality.