AUG 22 — Finally we have someone admitting the magnitude of the discipline problem in our schools. Commenting on Deputy Education Minister P. Kamalanathan’s proposal that cops be stationed in schools to handle indiscipline and gangsterism , the president of the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP), Hashim Adnan, said it was not a practical suggestion and gave some figures.

He said that there were 10,000 schools nationwide and that problematic schools may number half of them. If two policemen were stationed at each school, that would require 10,000 policemen. He also said two policemen per school would not be enough. As a large number of policemen would be required, he wondered how many policemen would volunteer to be stationed in schools. Now these figures are damning indictment of the widespread indiscipline in our schools and the seriousness of the matter. 

On the other hand the Education Ministry has never acknowledged the seriousness and magnitude of the discipline problem in our schools. Any incident that gets into the news is always an “isolated case”. Last year it rushed to produce the Education Review Blueprint, supposedly to transform our education system. It was used as campaign material for the 13th general election. This beautifully produced book did not mention a word about the existing discipline problem in schools and how it hampers effective teaching, how it creates children devoid of good moral values, how schools end up putting into circulation in adult society large numbers of undisciplined young adults who become a menace to civil society. Being in denial mode is not the way to address a problem. Problems don’t go away if you don’t acknowledge them and earnestly find ways to deal with them.  

Schools have trained counsellors and discipline teachers. “Experts” have suggested various ways of turning the undisciplined children over, e.g. through love, denial from participating in activities they enjoy and other psychological approaches. Nothing has worked in the schools. Discipline has only gotten worse.

Disciplining children, or put another way, moulding their character, should be the first duty of the schools. But what is happening is a lot of finger pointing: teachers say it is the duty of parents to send disciplined children to school, and the Education Ministry also echoes this. Parents feel schools should ensure children behave well.

The biggest mistake in our school system that has led to today’s chronic indiscipline situation was the disenfranchisement of teachers from using the cane. Regretfully no teachers’ union stood up to this and just went along with the politicians who promoted and enforced the ban on using the cane. Teachers’ unions should have seen the progressive deterioration of discipline after the ban and spoken strongly about it. This was not done.

The cane in a teacher’s hand has been made out to be such a horrendous thing. Prior to that it had been used for centuries without being demonised. The age-old saying “spare the rod and spoil the child” is full of merit.

How many of our ministers and former ministers, parliamentarians and former parliamentarians and others who rose up to be somebody somewhere can honestly say they did not receive even a stroke of the cane, or did not see anyone in their schools receive strokes of the cane? Were all the homes free of the cane during their childhood days? How many of those who did receive some strokes of the cane ended up in hospital or the psychiatric wards? 

You can ban the cane, but more serious injuries can be caused by the bare hands. The mouth can cause even greater damage than the cane or bare hands.

The NUTP as the leading teachers’ union should not just worry about teachers’ service conditions and salaries, but also about the children that its members teach and the indiscipline problems they face daily. The union should put its foot down strongly on issues that affect the quality of teaching/learning in schools. It should work towards bringing back the glorious days of schooling of the ‘50s and ‘60s. If policies are wrong, like the policy on the use of the cane, it should not sidestep the issue but work towards making people see the folly of those policies and hopefully rectifying the damage.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online.