School bullying issue 'complex' to tackle, both victims & perpetrators need help: Chan Chun Sing

Education minister Chan Chun Sing was faced with a slew of questions pertaining to school bullying in parliament on Oct. 14.

These included queries about a potential rising trend of such cases and how the government deals with them.

This followed a trail of recent bullying reports linked to local schools such as ITE College Central, Bukit View Secondary School, Meridian Secondary School, and Qihua Primary School.

School bullying issues have become more "complex", Chan reiterated throughout his speech and replies to supplementary questions.

This means that the measures taken cannot be simple.

Supporting both victims and perpetrators

Chan said that when dealing with school bullying, schools will "consider the seriousness of the incident and take into consideration the profile and needs of the students involved".

While perpetrators may face detention, suspension, and even legal consequences after police reports are made, caning remains a "last resort" for boys involved in "severe bullying" cases.

Chan stressed the importance of adopting a rehabilitative approach.

Both victims and perpetrators will receive emotional support from teachers, school counsellors, and the community to help restore fraught relationships.

 "The objective of these educative and restorative efforts is to help students learn from their mistakes. These efforts are taken to turn the bully around, rather than just expelling or suspending them from school."

He noted that some parents had suggested "doxing" the perpetrators but said such "social vigilantism" could "backfire and complicate" efforts to help both the victim and perpetrator.

Doxing leaves a digital footprint, remarked Chan.

"Imagine a young child doing something wrong, and it's on record forever. That child could be our child."

Of course, he went on to say, "No one is above the law," and rehabilitative measures and appropriate punishment must be implemented.

Parents to get involved

Chan highlighted parents' role in guiding their children through adolescence.

When victims of bullying turn to their parents for help, parents are encouraged to "remain calm" and reinforce "pro-social and coping skills".

With the nature of bullying being reshaped by complex relationships and social media, Chan added that parents need to work in close partnership with schools and communities to combat the problem.

Average number of bullying incidents has "remained steady"

Chan stated that the average number of bullying incidents has "remained steady" in the last five years.

For every 1000 students, there were an average of two incidents in primary schools and six incidents in secondary school annually, for any form of bullying, both within and outside of schools.

He shared the steps taken by the Ministry of Education (MOE) to prepare students and teachers for dealing with bullying threats.

Such measures include teaching students to treat others with respect both online and offline, training teachers to create a "positive classroom culture," and recognising distressed students.

Chan also warned against circulating bullying videos, which could "ostracise" perpetrators even more and make it harder for them to "mend their ways".

What constitutes "bullying"?

Chan noted that students now are more willing to come forward and surface cases of bullying.

However, he caveated that there are students who have become more "sensitive" to such issues.

"What they perceive as bullying may or may not correspond to what other people perceive as bullying," he said.

"What people constitute as bullying also varies in interpretation across different people, so we should be careful."

Nevertheless, he encouraged students to voice out instances where they felt disrespected or uncomfortable.

Schools will then investigate before adopting a "tiered approach based on the severity of incident", which may range from cases arising from "careless remarks and misunderstandings" to "persistent, intentional acts of bullying".

Intervention cannot be one-size-fits-all

When we say that we intervene, Chan went on to say, "any intervention cannot be a one-size-fits-all".

He said in meting out any punishments, schools must take into account the circumstances and the background of both the victim and the perpetrators.

Chan added that rehabilitation of both the victim and the perpetrators often takes time and requires teamwork from schools, parents, and community partners.

"True justice must blend punishment with rehabilitation."

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