Standardising Bullying Incidents Management and Implementation across Schools

39 Mr Kenneth Tiong Boon Kiat asked the Minister for Education (a) what is the Ministry's operational definition of bullying, distinct from hurtful behaviour, fights or one-off comments; (b) whether this definition is standardised and implemented across all schools; and (c) if so, how are incidents consistently classified, recorded, and addressed.

Mr Desmond Lee: The Ministry of Education (MOE) and schools take a firm stance against all forms of hurtful behaviours. Bullying involves persistent and intentional hurtful acts, while other hurtful behaviours include once-off insensitive comments and physical fights. Bullying can take on various forms, including verbal, social, physical and cyber. This understanding guides schools in managing different forms of hurtful behaviours.

MOE provides schools with guidelines to formulate their discipline policies and school rules based on the student profile and needs. Schools adopt a tiered approach for disciplinary measures based on the severity of each case. Such measures range from reflection for careless remarks to detention or suspension for more serious cases and to caning for boys in egregious cases.