Deputy education minister warns schools against hiding bullying cases

Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching has warned schools against attempting to hide bullying cases in schools from the government.

She said headmasters and school administrations have been instructed to report all cases, instead of trying to bury the matter.

“Schools have been instructed to take proactive measures in handling bullying cases, based on the (ministry) circular... and to report all bullying incidents," she said during her speech at the "Kids Take over Parliament: We Care" event at the Banquet Hall at the Parliament building today.

“We do not want schools to trying and shield bullying cases for whatever reason, what more to preserve the school’s good name.” 

She also revealed that Malaysian schools have seen a slight rise in the number of bullying cases from last year, up 0.02 percent.

“Although this is a small percentage in increase, we view the issue of bullying in schools seriously," Teo said. 

Speaking to the press later, Teo said there have been cases where bullying went unreported by the school administration only to come to light after the case had gone viral online.

"Report it, don't hide it as this will not help the students," she said.

The event saw 40 children, aged 13 to 16, selected from across the country, take to Parliament to share with ministers their experiences related to bullying, their insights and suggestions on anti-bullying policies.

The event was organised by the Education Minister and United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) Malaysia.

Teo told reporters that the ministry hoped that the children's sharing at the event would help members of the community, parents and teachers understand the pain experienced by the children.

"We hope together we can overcome the issue of school bullying."

The deputy minister added she would bring the list of suggestions by the young participants to tackle the problem to Education Minister Mazslee Malik and assured that the ministry would study them and implement those deemed suitable.

In line with the teenagers’ participation in today’s event, Teo said the message was clear, that “victims of bullying must feel safe and be able to talk about it”.

Also at the event was Women, Family and Community Development Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

In her speech, Wan Azizah, who is also deputy prime minister, said aside from school and cyberbullying, children must be protected from sexual grooming and child pornography online.

“We must sow awareness on the existence of cybersex grooming through various mediums such as social media, and we want children to be equipped with the information and guidance to avoid becoming victims," she said. 

“Latest findings also show the impropriety on the Dark Web about child pornography. I would like to stress that parents must play an aggressive and significant role in monitoring and making their children aware.” - Mkini