Whenever a student is affected by bullying, whether as a victim or perpetrator, the teachers and school counsellors provide emotional support to help the student cope and mend relationships. Students who continue to be distressed will be referred to community resources such as the Response, Early Intervention and Assessment in Community mental Health (REACH) teams for more specialised support.
The objective of these educative and restorative efforts is to help students learn from their mistakes. These efforts are taken to turn the bully around, rather than just "expelling" or suspending them from school. When relationships are affected due to conflicts and misconduct, schools and institutions take steps to educate, discipline and restore relationships in the school community, and these efforts require parents' support and partnership.
Parental guidance and partnerships are vital in shaping children's character. Parents guide their children by role-modelling positive behaviour and interaction with others. When a child faces bullying, parents are encouraged to remain calm and provide emotional support, reinforcing pro-social values and coping skills. Similarly, when a child has bullied someone, parents can guide their child to learn from the mistake, apologise sincerely and make amends. As mending relationships and improving behaviour require time and practice, parents are encouraged to collaborate closely with schools to address the situation effectively.
When students witness bullying incidents, they are reminded not to record and share the incidents online to avoid further hurting the parties involved. Similarly, when videos become viral, everyone should exercise care in responding to them. Circulating such materials, trying to doxx the student perpetrators or calling for them to be ostracised, could isolate them even more, drive them to extremes and make it harder for them to mend their ways. The bullying perpetrators often also need help to turn over a new leaf. As a society, we must be careful not to normalise such behaviours unintentionally. Let us stand together to discourage copycats and attempts to out-viral the last bullying video.
MOE will continue to work with schools to share good practices and review the strategies to manage bullying. We will continue to update these education and intervention measures and partner parents to create caring and safe learning environments for our students.
I thank Members of Parliament and members of the public for showing their concern about this issue. With your help to monitor community and online spaces to keep our students safe and to stop bullying incidents among students when you witness them, we will be that village that raises our children well.
Finally, Mr Speaker, Sir, bullying is a multi-faceted issue that defies one-size-fits-all solutions. It requires a nuanced approach that carefully considers the well-being and reform of both victims and perpetrators. We all hold the power and duty to support each other and to foster an environment where healing and change are possible. We want to steer clear of actions that might hinder or deny a perpetrator's chance for rehabilitation, such as counter-productive social media behaviours. True justice blends punishment with rehabilitation.
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