More counsellors needed to help troubled students, says NUTP

 The teachers’ union says diverting counsellors to administrative duties or to sit in for teachers has left them little time to attend to students with problems.

According to NUTP president Aminuddin Awang some schools still do not have enough trained counsellors to handle bullying, behavioural problems and mental-health concerns.

PETALING JAYA:

The education ministry must ensure schools have enough counsellors to address behavioural problems before things turn ugly, says the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP).

NUTP president Aminuddin Awang said some schools still lack sufficient counselling personnel to deal with issues such as bullying, misconduct and mental health concerns.

Yet, he said, counsellors are sometimes required to supervise classes when teachers are assigned other duties.

Counsellors are trained to help students navigate emotional and other challenges they face at school, but they are not qualified to teach.

Concerns over schools’ preparedness to handle behavioural problems have resurfaced following the recent stabbing of a Form Three student at a secondary school in Banting, allegedly by another 15-year-old student.

Aminuddin said the shortage of counsellors is more acute at the primary school level.

“When counsellors are asked to stand in for absent teachers or teachers who have to take on other duties, they do not have enough time to carry out their own responsibilities,” he told FMT.

The solution, he said, is to increase the number of qualified counsellors, strengthen their professional training and allow them to focus on counselling duties.

He said that while teachers are often the first to notice emotional distress, aggression, prolonged absenteeism or sudden behavioural changes, they lack consistent specialist training to determine whether such behaviour signals a mental health crisis or risk of violence.

“While some training related to emotional intelligence is provided, it is not consistent across all schools and is often insufficient,” he said, calling for practical screening guidelines, continuous professional development and a clear referral system.

Teachers are not enforcement officers

Aminuddin said teachers are also not adequately trained to respond to violent incidents involving weapons and should not be expected to physically confront an armed student.

“Teachers are educators, not law enforcement officers. Their primary responsibility is to protect students, de-escalate situations where possible, and immediately activate emergency response procedures,” he said.

He also called for mandatory crisis-response training, regular simulations and clear SOPs covering evacuations, lockdowns and emergency communications, alongside stronger security protocols and an early intervention system for at-risk students.

Aminuddin also urged closer cooperation between the education and health ministries, as well as between schools and the police.

Warning signs must be taken seriously

Counsellor J Anasuya Jegathevi said schools tend to respond only after serious incidents occur, rather than develop systems to identify and address risks earlier.

“Crises happen rarely, but their impact is great, so you need to be prepared. It’s like why we need to be prepared for a fire,” said Anasuya, principal counsellor at AJJ Heartalk, a mental health and counselling practice.

She said threats, alarming social media posts and sudden behavioural changes are often dismissed because adults assume children would not act on them, while those who raise concerns risk being accused of overreacting.

“(Mostly people assume that because) they are small children, they are not going to do anything — until they do something,” she said.

Anasuya said school counsellors who also serve as teachers may struggle to gain students’ trust, particularly when pupils are unsure whether their disclosures will remain confidential.

She said bullying is not confined to physical attacks but also includes verbal abuse, threats, cyberbullying and coordinated social exclusion, which adults may wrongly dismiss as children simply refusing to speak to one another.

Anasuya said anti-bullying programmes should teach students that joining in efforts to isolate another pupil can also amount to bullying, rather than relying on trainers who merely lecture or frighten them.

She added that some children who spent key developmental periods at home during the Covid-19 pandemic may also struggle with social norms and regulating their emotions in group settings.

However, Anasuya said counselling alone is insufficient, and schools must investigate complaints, involve parents, and take visible and fair action.

She also warned that transferring an affected student to another school may appear to punish the victim while leaving the underlying problem unresolved.

“The best solution is for parents and educators to work together,” she said, adding that schools must recognise that online conflicts, cyberbullying and threatening behaviour can begin outside school before spilling into the classroom. - FMT