KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 14 — The Ministry of Education told the Dewan Rakyat this morning that it is preparing a four-tiered framework to curb bullying in schools.
Its minister Datuk Mohd Radzi Jidin said the planned internal system would allow pupils and parents to file complaints directly while protecting the identities of the complainants but stopped short from explaining how it would be different from current protocols to deal with bullies.
“There might be cases where [the school] might attempt to cover up but if this happens in any public school we will be very committed to take immediate and stern action against any school management that tries to hide any incidence of bullying in their establishment,” he said during Question Time.
“That is why we are developing this complaints system so that the ministry will find out in detail about cases of bullying and determine the right course of action,” he added.
Radzi also suggested that the ministry might impose harsher punishments for bullies.
The ministry is now reviewing existing penalties with the view to “improve” them” so that the punishments meted out would be appropriate”, he told the Lower House.
This could entail empowering wardens in boarding schools to mete out heavier punishments, the senator suggested. Radzi did not state what these punishments are.
“The ministry is reviewing existing punishments for pupils who have committed bullying with the aim to improve so that any penalties meted out would be appropriate and act as an effective deterrence,” he said.
These measures are part of a four-tiered anti-bullying framework that the ministry expects to formalise by next year.
Radzi said his ministry is currently holding talks with heads of schools and the police as part of an ongoing discussion to prepare the framework.
Bullying has been a rampant problem plaguing not just learning institutions, but also private workplaces and the civil service.
Some of the most high profile bullying cases in recent years have resulted in deaths, prompting public uproar. The issue has cropped up again following a new incident involving several teenagers believed to be students of a public boarding school.
A video of the bullying incident had been caught on video. In the short clip lasting about 30 seconds, several male students were seen punching and kicking another boy.
An initial investigation found the incident occurred between 1am and 2am on December 9 involving a 13-year-old victim.
