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SINGAPORE: 95 percent of students in primary and secondary schools have experienced bullying in their schools.
Out of 4000 students surveyed, almost all said they have experienced bullying.
Majority were victims of verbal bullying such as teasing and name calling.
But over 2800 cases of physical bullying such as being kicked, hit or pushed were also reported.
The survey was conducted by the Harvest Centre for Research, Training & Development, and also the Coalition Against Bullying for Children & Youth.
"Quite a huge percentage said they feel angry and the second highest would be the sadness and depression, which could lead to low self esteem. International research has shown that bullies, by the age of 17 to 27, have a higher tendency to enter a criminal career. There has been known cases where bully victims take matters into their own hands because they need to do something about it. For example, they slash their wrists with penknives or they plot revenge," said Esther Ng, founder of Coalition Against Bullying.
The survey also found that in primary schools, 46 percent of instances of bullying took place in the canteens, and 42 percent in the school field.
But in secondary schools, 38 percent of bullying instances took place in the classroom, 35 percent in the canteen and 23 percent in the school toilets.
In Australia and the United States, it is mandatory for schools to have anti bullying programmes.
But not in Singapore.
Also many teachers are unaware of actual cases of bullying because the victims are too afraid to speak up while bystanders choose to remain silent for fear they'll be the next target.
"It's very powerful what a bystander can do, they can say lets stop it or lets go tell a teacher. They are the most powerful assistant or help in a situation like this. But only a minority will speak up," said Ms Ng.
Responding to Channel NewsAsia's queries, the Education Ministry said "bullying in schools is regarded as a serious matter and besides taking appropriate disciplinary measures on bullies, counselling and other preventive actions are also carried out."
It added that "records indicate the number of serious offences in schools has remained small and relatively stable over the years."
A conference on bullying will be held on the 19th and 20th June to help educators understand this issue more. - CNA /dt
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