PUBLISHED ONMay 05, 2026 8:30 AMBYKhoo Yi-HangThere will be no sparing the rod if the offence committed by a student is too severe, Education Minister Desmond Lee said in Parliament on Tuesday (May 5).
He was sharing the Ministry of Education's (MOE) updated efforts in response to questions by MPs on Tuesday in relation to bullying incidents in schools.
Responding to their queries, Lee explained that caning must be approved by a school's principal and administered only by authorised teachers.
Factors such as the students' maturity and how caning will help them understand and learn from their mistakes will also be considered.
"(Caning) is not a new measure," the minister explained, adding that the punishment has been around for "quite some time", but when administered poorly and frequently in unregulated settings, it may result in negative outcomes.
"We recognise this, and I want to emphasise that the context in our schools is quite different.
"Our schools use caning as a disciplinary measure," Lee stated.
"If all the other measures are inadequate, given the gravity of the misconduct, they follow strict protocols to ensure safety for the student."
He further explained that schools will exercise discretion on whether to use caning as a disciplinary measure after evaluating the circumstances of the offence.
When used, caning will never be used in isolation, Lee said, and will be part of a "suite of restorative and disciplinary measures, including monitoring the student's well-being and progress as well as counselling and rehabilitation".
"This has a positive impact on reducing bullying and enables the school community to feel safe to learn in an orderly environment," he added.
Notably, caning is a punishment only for boys who make egregious violations — girls may instead face detention or suspension, or adjustments to their conduct grade should they commit bullying.
@asiaone Minister for Education of Singapore Desmond Lee on Tuesday (May 5) explained how caning was being used in schools “as part of a framework of disciplinary measures” and why the punishment is reserved for male students. #sgnews #Singapore #School #Disciplinary #Student ♬ original sound - AsiaOne
Lee also stressed that the ministry regularly conducts reviews of its disciplinary guidelines, taking in feedback, ground wisdom and research to refine their approach.
During the last five years, three per 1,000 primary school pupils and eight per 1,000 secondary school students were involved in bullying incidents each year.
But this figure is set to change — greater awareness around bullying may result in more cases being reported, thus causing a rise in such recorded case, Lee said.
All schools will each have an online reporting platform for students and parents from 2027, Lee said.
This will supplement existing channels including reporting directly to teachers or school leaders.
While bringing these numbers down may be a useful performance indicator, there is more to it than just downstream intervention and measures.
Minister Lee shared: "A lot of the work has to be upstream; it has to be about culture building.
"It's about the child and his or her understanding of how to relate to one another, and it also involves taking care of children with special needs or mental health challenges who may have challenges behaving in norms that we would otherwise expect, so we have to be inclusive in that regard as well."
He added: "While schools play a central role in creating a safe, caring and enabling environment for our students and teachers, addressing hurtful behaviour and bullying takes a whole-of-society effort.
"MOE will work with our schools, families and the wider community to create environments where every child feels safe, valued and supported to reach their full potential."
@asiaone Minister for Education Desmond Lee on Tuesday (May 5) revealed that technological solutions are being adopted to help reduce the administrative load in schools. MOE is developing an offence management system to support case investigation, documentation, and monitoring. #sgnews #Singapore #MOE #Bullying #Schools ♬ original sound - AsiaOne
Minister Lee also said that MOE, with the support of the Community and Parents in Support of Schools (Compass) Council, announced recommendations against bullying on April 15 in a whole-of-society approach.
"We have strengthened our CCE lessons with more interactive learning strategies and real-life scenarios," he said.
"This better equips our students to respond when they witness or experience bullying and other hurtful behaviour."
In adapting to the presence of online risks, cyber wellness lessons have also been updated, Lee added.
"All schools will also develop an anti-bullying policy by the end of this year that is based on MOE's guidelines to ensure case management processes remain calibrated across all our schools."
"Our schools will also foster a pro-social peer culture, where students look out for one another… stand together against hurtful behaviour and support those who are affected," he said.
Schools must also be conducive for learning and growing, and the minister stressed the need to "deepen a culture of kindness and respect and promote empathy and kindness".
Schools will also be provided with additional resources to obtain greater support for teachers, utilising technology to improve case management, communication and intervention when incidents happen.
"Finally, we will strengthen partnerships with parents, families and the community, because bullying and hurtful behaviour cannot be seen purely in the school context alone, but must be seen in the context of what happens at home, in the community and in society," the minister added.
Overall, MPs on both sides of the House filed a total of 43 written and oral questions on bullying, following new anti-bullying measures released by the Ministry of Education (MOE) on April 15.
[[nid:733712]]
khooyihang@asiaone.com
