Parliamentary Committee To Table Statement On Bullying In School Next Thursday

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 (Bernama) -- The Parliamentary Select Committee on Women, Children and Community Development will table a statement on the issue of bullying in schools next Thursday, following a briefing session with ministries and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) today.

Its chairperson, Yeo Bee Yin said the statement would summarise the recommendations and views obtained from the hearing involving the Ministry of Education (KPM), the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM), the Ministry of Home Affairs (KDN), as well as various NGOs and activists.

"From today's briefing, among the most important recommendations that all NGOs and activists want is the establishment of a child-friendly bullying complaints portal at national level.

"Currently, existing complaint systems such as Talian Kasih or online platforms are not child-friendly enough, especially in terms of direct communication or the 'chat' function. So, we will push for a complaint system that is more suitable for children," she said.

She was met by the media after a special briefing programme on Tackling Bullying in Schools with Members of Parliament at Parliament today.

Meanwhile, Yeo said the committee welcomed the government's efforts to examine the need to enact an Anti-Bullying Act which emphasises the establishment of a tribunal to hear bullying cases involving students and children.

However, she stressed that it needs to be seen comprehensively and not just from a disciplinary perspective.

"We know that victims of bullying have the potential to become bullies in the future if they are not given the appropriate emotional support. So, the act needs to balance the disciplinary (enforcement) aspect and also provide emotional support,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) chief children commissioner Dr Farah Nini Dusuki said the appointment of dormitory wardens should not be from among teachers to ensure the effectiveness of student management and the continuity of teaching sessions.

She said teachers are already shouldering various responsibilities at school and the additional role of warden can put great pressure on the quality of their work, especially when they have to leave the classroom to resolve conflicts among students.

“When they have to leave the classroom to resolve the issue, the teaching process is disrupted. So as much as possible, do not involve the appointment of wardens from among teachers but try to find them from outside.

"If possible, there should be specific leeway for teachers taking on the role of wardens. That means if he is a warden, you have to give him lesser workload besides increasing the allowance so that there is ownership to the responsibility," she said.

She also believed that in appointing school warden, the most critical aspect that needs to be given attention is the background screening process and psychometric tests to ensure they are suitable to work with children.

"It doesn't matter whether if you are taking care of children, if you are dealing with children, you must be screened for suitability to work with children. We don't want people who work with children to be people who have a record of misbehaviour with children," she said.

-- BERNAMA