Teacher dies at teachers' day celebration

PASIR MAS: The merriment of celebrating Teachers' Day at the Sekolah Kebangsaan Othman Talib 1, Tendong here turned to sadness when a teacher died from a heart attack.
In the incident at about noon today, Naizura Mohamed, 42, collapsed on stage while taking part in a dikir barat performance with her students before she was rushed to the Tendong Health Clinic here.
The incident occurred in full view of about 700 people in the audience which included students, teachers and school staff.
Headmaster Zulhadi Mahamad said Naizura was given emergency treatment but was pronounced dead 30 minutes later.
When contacted, he said Naizura, who had taught in the school for 12 years, had a record of heart disease and was receiving treatment at the Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital in Kubang Kerian.
Zulhadi said before the programme started, Naizura seemed tired and the other teachers advised her to rest in the teachers' room or go home, but she insisted on participating in the finale with her students.
Naizura, who was from Kampung Alor Durian here and taught Bahasa Melayu, was buried at the Kampung Perangkap Muslim Cemetery at about 6pm.
According to her husband, Kamarul Azhar Ahmad, 44, Naizura was cheerful in the morning before going to school as she was looking forward to the Teachers' Day celebrations.
"She underwent a bypass operation in 2009 and was never sick after that. We never expected this to happen at a time when all teachers were celebrating Teachers' Day," Kamarul , a teacher at Sekolah Kebangsaan Gelang Mas here, said.
The couple has four children, aged between 12 and 21. — Bernama