Investigation into Alleged Bullying Case at Mee Toh School

Ms Rahayu Mahzam asked the Minister for Education (a) what is the outcome of the investigation into the alleged bullying case in Mee Toh School; and (b) whether there will be a review of the standard operating procedures in place or specific training for school staff to respond to such bullying cases.

Mr Speaker, schools will always take a serious view on bullying. Mee Toh School has investigated the incident and the few students responsible for the acts have been counselled and disciplined.

Our primary approach is to help children understand their mistakes and restore relationships. In this case, the Principal made them revisit the incident, with them standing in the shoes of the victim. This made the wrongdoers truly regret their actions. They had to apologise in person to the victim. The students were also disciplined, but MOE prefers not to disclose the details here.

The school also engaged the parents of the wrongdoers. They all understood the seriousness of their children's actions and supported the school's action. The school has observed that the students have interacted well after the school-facilitated reconciliation sessions.

MOE's assessment is that the school has Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in place to deal with bullying incidents. In this case, the Form Teacher and school had acted without delay, and the follow-up actions were appropriate.

MOE will further strengthen our efforts to educate our students against bullying in our schools. The 2021 revised Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) Curriculum will teach pro-social behaviours, respect, care and empathy. It will encourage those adversely affected by bullying to seek out help without fear of stigma. MOE will also support all schools in establishing a peer support culture so that every student understands that bullying is wrong and learns how to extend help and support to those who have been bullied.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank the Minister for her response. I am happy to learn that the school has taken this seriously and some efforts have been made to address the actions that these students have done.

I am just curious though, because, based on the news report, the sister of the victim indicated that this was not the first time that the victim had been bullied. So, my first supplementary question is, do we know how long this has been going on? I am asking because, if this has been going on for some time, then, it is of concern if the teachers and the people in the school had not noticed and taken any action.

My second question relates to the similar issue of the sister raising the matter on Twitter. What is the formal channel in which the parents or family members of victims can raise their concerns? I understand based on the report in the news, that the sister had said that she had raised it to the school, but no action had been taken. So, I just wanted to know what was the background to these circumstances and whether there is a need to actually review the process?

I do not have the specific timeline for this case in question. However, what I can reassure the Member is this – the schools and teachers take such allegations very seriously. Parents would be encouraged to speak to the teachers and the schools to highlight such cases. In this particular instance, when MOE looked into it, we were satisfied that the school had acted appropriately.

So, I think at the end of the day, the key thing is this – to bring it to the attention of the teachers in the schools as soon as possible. From the MOE side of the house, we want to make sure that the schools respond appropriately and quickly and in time, and also to make sure that we have the appropriate peer support culture. So, in this particular instance as we have said, measures were taken and the matter has been resolved. But, we will also continue to make sure that going forward, for this particular case as well as for other students in other schools, any allegations of bullying would be addressed appropriately and in a timely fashion.