PETALING JAYA, May 11 — The plan to amend and update the Education (School Disciplines) Regulations 1959 is timely, education groups say.
National Parent-Teacher Association chairman Prof Datuk Mohamad Ali said it was about time for the Education Ministry to be serious and make amendments to the regulations.
“It has been brought up by the ministry many times in the past but nothing was implemented. I hope they are serious this time and ensure the amendments are made.
“However, if the ministry wants to give more power to school authorities, they (ministry) should ensure the principals and disciplinary teachers are ready to handle such responsibilities,” he said.
“If the schools have poor management, more problems will arise. The ministry should make all teachers disciplinary teachers.”
He said by appointing them as disciplinary teachers, more enforcement could be done to tackle disciplinary issues.
“The ministry should also involve police and local community leaders in the schools’ disciplinary committee,” he said.
Parent Action Group of Education Malaysia chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahman said the Education Ministry should work together with the Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) in tackling cyberbullying.
“There is no clear definition of cyberbullying and parents may have difficulty identifying the problem. That is why the ministry should work closely with MCMC and engage schools to take initiatives to increase the awareness on what cyberbullying is,” she said.
“If we do not nip it in the bud, we will face a bigger problem like in United States where many children committed suicide after being bullied online.”
Azimah said compulsory counselling for problematic students would be a good idea.
“We should look into new ways to rehabilitate troubled students rather than punish them,” she said.
“There are many ways to address disciplinary issues and no student should be exempted from being reprimanded for misconduct in school,” she said.
She related a case of how a Form Five student, who had bullied a Form Two prefect, had escaped punishment as he was about to sit for his Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) trial examination.
“The school refused to take action as he was already registered to sit for examination. It also said they would not expel him as it was too late in the year for him to transfer to a new school,” she said.
“The school protected the bully instead of the victim. Eventually, the victim’s parents transferred him out of the school to prevent further bullying.”
She said bullies should be reprimanded despite the circumstances so they would learn the consequences of their actions. The National Parent-Teacher Association wants the Education Ministry to make all teachers disciplinarians.
