Role models? Many parents exit graduation ceremony before it ends, leaving other graduates with no audience

A Taylor Swift concert lasts more than three hours.

A movie at the cinema has an average run time of almost two hours.

The graduation ceremony at ITE College East on Feb 28 lasted only an hour and 15 minutes. Yet guests, comprising mostly parents of the graduating students, chose not to sit through the milestone event.

Suzy M, who was at the campus auditorium for her daughter, was appalled when most of the guests started leaving way before the graduation ceremony ended.

"The ceremony started at 4pm. By 5pm, the auditorium was almost empty. The moment their children received their certificates on stage, the parents got up and left," said the 46-year-old mother of two.

"I feel sorry for the students who got a silent room when it was their turn to get on the stage. Why couldn't all the guests stay put for just an hour and cheer on all the students on their momentous day?"

Suzy's daughter received her certificate in the first-half of the ceremony, which queued the students according to their course and class.

"Surely we do not need a formal request to behave graciously. I hope the students who received their certificates in the second-half of the ceremony did not feel dispirited."

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This article was first published in The New Paper. Permission required for reproduction.