Chan Chun Sing on managing bullying in schools and IHLs
The Ministry of Education (MOE) takes a serious view of all forms of hurtful behaviour - from insensitive remarks to persistent intentional acts of bullying and even physical violence. Schools and Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) have rules and regulations which prohibit any form of bullying while educating students against negative behaviour and working with families, the community and partners to intervene promptly and address them. Education Minister Chan Chun Sing gave this assurance in reply to MPs’ questions in Parliament on Monday (Oct 14). He said that in the last five years, the average number of bullying incidents has remained steady. For every 1,000 students, there was an average of two incidents in primary schools and six incidents in secondary schools annually for any form of bullying, both within and outside of school. Of these, incidents involving the use of technology averaged less than one incident per 1,000 secondary school students and even fewer in primary schools each year. Mr Chan highlighted the “educative and restorative” efforts to help students learn from their mistakes. He said MOE will continue to work with schools to share good practices, review the strategies to manage bullying and partner parents to create caring and safe learning environments for students. Mr Chan pointed out that bullying is a multifaceted issue which requires a nuanced approach that carefully considers the well-being and reform of both victims and perpetrators. He stressed the need to foster an environment where healing and change are possible, as “true justice blends punishment with rehabilitation”.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) takes a serious view of all forms of hurtful behaviour - from insensitive remarks to persistent intentional acts of bullying and even physical violence. Schools and Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) have rules and regulations which prohibit any form of bullying while educating students against negative behaviour and working with families, the community and partners to intervene promptly and address them. Education Minister Chan Chun Sing gave this assurance in reply to MPs’ questions in Parliament on Monday (Oct 14). He said that in the last five years, the average number of bullying incidents has remained steady. For every 1,000 students, there was an average of two incidents in primary schools and six incidents in secondary schools annually for any form of bullying, both within and outside of school. Of these, incidents involving the use of technology averaged less than one incident per 1,000 secondary school students and even fewer in primary schools each year. Mr Chan highlighted the “educative and restorative” efforts to help students learn from their mistakes. He said MOE will continue to work with schools to share good practices, review the strategies to manage bullying and partner parents to create caring and safe learning environments for students. Mr Chan pointed out that bullying is a multifaceted issue which requires a nuanced approach that carefully considers the well-being and reform of both victims and perpetrators. He stressed the need to foster an environment where healing and change are possible, as “true justice blends punishment with rehabilitation”.