Tears all around as viral TikTok sensation Headmaster George Odol retires

TELUPID: George Odol, the headmaster of Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Ulu Ansuan famous for living in the school’s storeroom for three years, spent his last day at work bidding a tearful but joyous farewell to his fellow teachers, school staff and pupils.

The Kadazandusun headmaster from Inanam, who shot to fame recently after making a video showing off his humble living conditions and uploading it on TikTok, uploaded several posts on social media about his last day at the school, located about 230km from Kota Kinabalu.

One post shows him and his pupils embracing with tears in their eyes, while in another, he is sitting on some steps at the school as his pupils line up to shake his hand. George looked calm and sported a smile, but had to wipe away his tears on several occasions.

He shared that his official retirement day was actually on Friday (Nov 24) but he chose to take care of some things on Saturday (Nov 5) before heading back to his family home in Tongod.

His wife, a teacher in Kota Kinabalu, and his two children aged 19 and 16, will join him during the holidays, he said.

SK Ulu Ansuan preschool teacher Muhd ​​Fareed Fuzi Awang, 35, expressed his sadness about George’s retirement, sharing that the headmaster always took care of everyone, teachers, staff, and pupils alike.

“If it wasn’t for Cikgu George, I might still be living in a dilapidated house. Cikgu George has done so much for this school, it will be hard for us to repay him,” he told BK on Monday (Nov 27).

Local media outlets highlighted George’s story after his video came to light, in which he took viewers on a tour of his lodgings, but also gave a brief explanation of how he had ended up in the storeroom for three years.

Since then, the Education Ministry has allocated RM200,000 for a short-term solution, involving an upgrade of teachers’ residences, due to be completed this month, and a long-term plan involving RM12.5mil to fix up the school and provide it with better educational facilities.- BK

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