Singapore's Education Minister, Chan Chun Sing, strongly condemned vigilantism from adults following viral social media posts about a bullying incident at Admiralty Secondary School. He emphasized the importance of allowing schools and authorities to handle such cases professionally. The minister stressed that while bullying is unacceptable, the increased visibility on social media often leads to overreactions and unhelpful interventions.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) takes a serious view of any act of bullying or violence, said Minister for Education Chan Chun Sing on Tuesday (Feb 4), as he warned against vigilantism from adults in such incidents. Mr. Chan's statement came in response to viral Facebook posts made by relatives of the students involved in an alleged assault at Admiralty Secondary School on January 7th. “No one should be bullied. No one wants to be bullied. And no one should bully,” said Mr.
Chan in parliament on Tuesday. But the virality of social media posts has “heightened sensitivities” and “increased social media vigilante actions”, he added.The “unhelpful involvement” of even a small number of adults can complicate the situation and make guiding students more challenging, said the education minister. When such incidents happen, some may react reflexively or emotionally. Members of the public who have “an incomplete view” also react and complicate an “already difficult situation”, he added. “MOE is particularly concerned when adults take to social media or turn up in our schools to threaten our staff, demanding action on behalf of their children, or even threatening the other children. This is wrong,” said Mr. Chan, adding that the ministry will not tolerate such actions. While such incidents are few, they need a “disproportionate” amount of time and bandwidth to manage, and must not be allowed to grow, he added.In the past five years, Admiralty Secondary School had an average of about two incidents of bullying a year per 1,000 students. This is no higher than the national average for bullying in secondary schools. Education Minister Chan Chun Sing gave this update in reply to Parliamentary questions on Tuesday (Feb 4). He said in the alleged assault case at the school on Jan 7, preliminary investigations by the Ministry of Education revealed that it was not an incident of bullying, but an altercation between two new Secondary 1 students.Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, Mr. Chan said preliminary investigations by MOE revealed that it was not an incident of bullying but rather an altercation between two Secondary 1 students between classes. “This resulted in one student striking the other on the head with a plastic water bottle, giving rise to a cut on that student’s head,” he said, adding that the form teacher intervened immediately after witnessing the scene and separated the students. The injured student received first aid for the cut on his head while school leaders called for an ambulance, said the Education Minister. The school “acted appropriately” to support his well-being, and ensured that he received timely medical care. He has since returned to school, said Mr. Chan. The boy who allegedly struck his classmate has been suspended. He is also being counselled and will face more disciplinary actions when he returns to school, the minister said, adding that the school will also facilitate the restoration of relationships between the two students when they are both back. “We understand the anxieties of parents whose children are or have been involved in fighting or bullying incidents, but please allow the school and the authorities to deal with the cases and carry out the necessary disciplinary and restorative actions professionally,” said Mr. Chan.1 in 4 upper primary school students have been bullied: Singapore studyAfter the alleged assault incident came to light online, the mother of an Admiralty Secondary School student who took her own life in 2023 took to Facebook to speak out against bullying. Addressing the incident on Tuesday, Mr. Chan reiterated MOE’s condolences, and stressed that the causes and possible triggers for suicides are complex. MOE typically does not disclose details of such incidents to the public out of respect for the family’s privacy, he added. “However, this often leaves our school leaders and teachers vulnerable to misunderstanding, leading to online attacks and abuse of our teachers and staff while they continue to exercise restraint and sensitivity to the families,” said Mr. Cha
SINGAPORE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION BULLYING SOCIAL MEDIA VIGILANTISM ADMIRALTY SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATION MINISTER CHAN CHUN SING
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