School bullies in Singapore are to face caning under new guidelines, but the education minister on Tuesday said it would be meted out only as a last resort with strict safeguards.
Human rights groups regularly criticize Singapore for the use of corporal punishment, which remains part of the school and criminal justice systems, but authorities have defended it as a deterrent to crime and serious misconduct.
Caning was discussed in the parliament after legislators asked how it would be used in relation to bullying in schools.
Photo: Reuters
The debate followed stricter guidelines on serious student misconduct, including bullying, unveiled by the Singaporean Ministry of Education last month.
Under the guidelines, offenders could face one to three strokes of the cane.
“Our schools use caning as a disciplinary measure if all the other measures are inadequate, given the gravity of the misconduct,” Singaporean Minister of Education Desmond Lee (李智陞) said.
“They follow strict protocols to ensure safety for the student. For instance, caning must be approved by the principal and administered only by authorized teachers,” he said.
“Schools will consider factors such as the maturity of the student and if caning will help the student learn from his mistake and understand the gravity of what he has done,” he added.
The punishment would be given only to male students in upper primary levels (ages 9 to 12) and above, Lee said, adding that the Criminal Procedure Code prohibits the caning of women.
After the caning is meted out, the school would “monitor the student’s well-being and progress,” including providing counseling, he said.
Female students would receive punishments “such as detention and/or suspension, adjustment of their conduct grade and other school-based consequences,” he said.
Caning in Singapore is a legacy of British colonial rule, but the UK has long abolished corporal punishment.
A WHO report released last year said that corporal punishment remained “alarmingly widespread,” and “overwhelming scientific evidence” showed that it caused significant harm to children’s health and development.
Additional reporting by The Guardian
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