SCHOOLS must not sweep cases of bullying under the carpet as this could lead to more serious incidents, parents said.

They told The Malaysian Insight that cases of bullying had caused them to worry about the safety of their children, especially those who have to live in boarding schools.

In fact, they said, the Education Ministry should act more decisively in tackling incidences of violence and bullying in schools, which is alarming.

Zainol Busral, 54, said although he understood that schools do not want to worsen the situation or worry parents, he said they had the right to know the what the situation in school was.

“Yes, we usually hear that if there are issues related to violence or bullying, the school will look into resolving it internally. Maybe they want to protect the good name of the school.

“But this does not help because when the matter is kept under wraps, then similar cases may recur. So, when there is a case of bullying, parents should be informed so that they can also play a role to curb this,” he said.

Last Friday, several teenagers believed to be boarding school students were seen punching and kicking a student in several video clips lasting between 13 and 30 seconds, which went viral on social media.

Following the incident, nine male students aged 13 and a 15-year-old student were detained by Kuala Kangsar police.

Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) director-general Azhar Abdul Manaf said the disciplinary committee had expelled 10 students who were involved in the incident.

Earlier, Education Minister Radzi Jidin said his party would draw up a comprehensive framework to combat bullying in schools, including hostels.

He also said his ministry would take stern action against any school that hid bullying cases.

Another parent, Maziah Ramli, 41, said although the school wanted to maintain its reputation, the safety of students should be more important.

“The school can’t keep quiet and simply close the case. They need to monitor regularly,” Maziah said.

“The school has a warden but there are still cases. And even if it says it’s an isolated case, they still can’t keep quiet about it.

“When schools keep quiet, that is when the students will take advantage of the situation.

Maziah said, as a mother who has a child studying in a science school, she also could help but feel worried over her son’s safety.

She said her son was the quiet type who was a victim of a bully when he was in Standard Two. He did not want to go to school after that incident but the boy did not tell his family what was bothering him.

“This matter was revealed when he was in Form Two, and now my son is 15 years old and he is still traumatised by the effects of being a victim of bullying,” she said.

Lack of awareness

Anti-bullying activist Nurul Kharmila Abdullah said the government and schools should take a more proactive stand in raising awareness on violence and bullying in schools.

She said although the education ministry has a good policy and module to deal with bullying cases, it was still not sufficient if it was not implemented continuously.

Furthermore, she said, the awareness campaign on bullying was inconsistent, adding that it was up to the schools to decide whether they wanted to actively implement it or not.

“Throughout my experience as an activist, especially when I give talks, some schools think that the once-a-week session is enough, but in fact it is not.

“This bullying awareness campaign should be done continuously and consistently. We need to remind students and instil the awareness in them.

“Even if there are millions of modules, if the implementation is not continuous, there is no point. Like the Education Ministry, I do not deny that they have the best policy on awareness to address the issue of bullying but they do not implement it at the school level.

“It is like if we have the most expensive vacuum cleaner, even if not used, it will still be dusty,” Nurul said.

She said it is clear that there are schools that try to close the matter up because they want to protect the good name of the school.

“There are also schools that want to resolve the bullying case internally, meaning they don’t want the case to be publicised but would take action.

“It depends on the administration on what approach they take. Although they don’t (publicise) the issue, taking action means the school is not sitting idly by. They call parents, and if physical violence is involved, then the school will expel the student.

“Given the guidance, if the school has taken action and handled the bullying issue accordingly, I think parents would not make a fuss of it because they see that the school is taking action. But we don’t want to see cases where they keep quiet and don’t take action,” Nurul said.

The anti-bullying activist had previously launched a “You Touch, You Go” campaign, aimed at putting pressure on schools, especially boarding schools, to expel pupils found guilty of bullying.

She became determined to fight the issue of bullying after her son, a student of Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM) Parit, Perak, became a victim of bullying, and had bruises and wounds all over his body for refusing to give his slippers to a group of bullies four years ago. – December 17, 2021.