Measures against Harassment by Students and Parents on Teaching Staff in Schools and Tertiary Institutions

32 Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan asked the Minister for Education whether the Ministry has a specific policy and programmes to alleviate harassment by students and parents on teaching staff across all our schools and tertiary institutions, including Special Education (SPED) schools.

Mr Chan Chun Sing: Our students do best when educators in our schools and Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) and parents work hand in hand to support them in their learning. There should be mutual respect across students, parents and staff so that our educators and school/IHL staff can do their jobs more effectively. As a proactive approach, our schools and IHLs seek to build positive relationships among staff, students and their parents.

We assure the Member that harassment of staff by parents or students is not common. Nevertheless, in our schools and IHLs, there are clear policies to manage any incidents of harassment, including escalation procedures and measures to protect our educators and staff and send a strong message that such behaviour is unacceptable. In extreme situations where staff feel harassed or their safety is threatened, measures include calling the Police for assistance and using legal levers, such as the Protection from Harassment Act (POHA), to protect staff from further harassment. Under POHA, where the victim of harassment is a public servant or a public service worker who was performing his or her duty, the offender is liable for enhanced penalties of an imprisonment term of up to 12 months, compared to six months for other victims, a fine of up to $5,000, or both. In addition, there are support structures, such as counselling, to provide support and care for our staff affected by harassment.

IHL students also undergo compulsory modules on respectful behaviour and anti-harassment and are expected to abide by the respective IHL’s Code of Conduct, which stipulates that disrespectful behaviour and harassment are a disciplinary offence.

Special Education (SPED) schools also have standard operating procedures aligned to the Human Resource policies of their parent Social Services Agency (SSA), to guide staff when they need to report and manage cases of harassment, should there be any. SSAs that run SPED schools also have processes on how SSA headquarters and/or school management members can step in to support teachers when interactions with parents and students become too challenging.

We call on students, parents as well as educators and staff to treat one another with mutual respect so that, together, we can achieve the best possible outcomes for the students we all care deeply about.