21 Oct 05

Title: Schools take serious view against bullying

1. Mr Jason Tan ("Marshals to stop bullies making school hell for students?", Today Voices, 18/10) had suggested that school marshals be deployed to control bullies.
2. Schools take a serious view against bullying and put in place personnel and processes to ensure that schools are safe and orderly places for learning and development.
3. Schools adopt a proactive and holistic approach towards discipline, including dealing with school bullies. Schools investigate all incidents of bullying and work to resolve them quickly so that they would not adversely affect the performance of students and interaction among them. Besides taking appropriate disciplinary measures on bullies, counselling and other preventive actions are also carried out. Proactive programmes in schools, such as peer support, peer mediation and conflict management help students build self-esteem and relationships.
4. Schools have the necessary qualified personnel to deal with bullying. All schools have discipline masters/mistresses who are trained to manage misbehaviour, including bullying. They are assisted by Operations Managers who also help maintain discipline in the school. Schools also have teacher counsellors who are trained in advanced counselling skills and crisis intervention to guide the students. Every secondary school will be provided with a full-time school counsellor in 2006 and every primary school and junior college in 2008. Where necessary, schools also work with professional agencies to help the students.
5. Bullying in schools is regarded as a serious matter and schools will take the necessary actions to prevent it from happening and to deal with it if it happens. Fortunately, records indicate that the number of serious offences in schools has remained small and relatively stable over the years. Nevertheless, parents and teachers need to work together to help students become upright and responsible adults. If parents have concerns regarding bullying in schools, we encourage them to approach the school directly.

Wong Siew Hoong (Mr)
Director, Schools
Ministry of Education