Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mr Saktiandi Supaat, Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC
Question
To ask the Minister for Education (a) how prevalent are incidents of hazing and bullying in the schools in the past year compared to a year ago; (b) whether the Ministry is aware that such incidents are shared by students on social media platforms; and (c) whether a student's character is one of the criteria used in selecting his/her suitability for a leadership role in school camping activities.
Response
1.MOE takes a serious view of bullying and hazing, and works with schools to send a clear message to all students that hurtful behaviour has no place in our schools. The number of bullying incidents reported in 2019 was about two incidents per 1,000 primary students and five incidents per 1,000 secondary students. These remained the same in 2020.
2. Schools monitor the cyber environment to the best of their abilities, taking both educative, preventive and intervention measures to address any bullying incidents. Schools educate students to be kind and responsible. When schools come across incidents of hurtful behaviour online, they take immediate action to investigate the incident, carry out appropriate disciplinary actions, and provide counselling support for students involved. Peer support leaders also help to keep online spaces safe, positive and alert teachers where needed. All students are taught the safe channels to report serious incidents, inappropriate practices, or hurtful behaviours.
3. Character is a key consideration in the selection process of student leaders, and other student helpers for camps. Camp activities are closely supervised by teachers and student leaders and helpers are removed from their leadership positions and disciplined if there is wrongdoing. They will also be guided to learn from their mistakes.