KUALA LUMPUR: Teachers and parents have come out in support of the suggestion to cane schoolgirls.

National Union of the Teaching Profession secretary-general Loke Yim Pheng said this was because schoolgirls were becoming as bold, if not, bolder than boys.

"They also have gang fights and get involved in bullying. It doesn't matter if they are from single-ed or co-ed schools,

"Girls with hard core disciplinary problems should be given the hard approach if the soft approach does not work with them any more," she said.

However, she said, the caning should only be carried out by female teachers and the only parts to be caned should be the palms or the calves.

She said it should also be carried out behind closed doors, something that the NUTP advocates for schoolboys as well.

National Parent-Teacher Association chairman associate professor Mohd Ali Hassan feels that caning of schoolgirls should be the last resort.

"I don't see any reason why schoolgirls should not be caned but it should be done in accordance with proper guidelines," he said.

He too stressed that the punishment should be meted out by a female teacher behind closed doors.

Ravindran Raman Kutty, 42, a public relations officer, said the adage "spare the rod and spoil the child" should also be applied to girls.

"The environment today has changed as parents are too busy to pay attention to their children," said the father of two teenage girls.

Protect And Save The Children Association director Madeline Yong does not share the same sentiment and stressed that there was no correlation between caning and social ills among schoolgirls.

She felt that corporal punishment would not lead to a decrease in anti-social behaviour but might cause them to become more aggressive.