Student questions severity of school bullying in Singapore
A Singapore student’s post on Reddit questioning whether school bullying has become more serious has struck a chord with many netizens.
The student, who wished to remain anonymous, told MS News that there have been rumours of troubling behaviour in classes.
In an r/askSingapore post on 4 Nov, they shared that some kids were slapping and choking each other or “pulling down pants and punching people in the guts”.
Source: Reddit
School bullying seems more serious nowadays
The OP observed that these violent acts often occurred “for fun”, and asked other netizens if their children or younger siblings are also going through a “big bullying problem”.
“This year, fights started to break out too,” said the student, who has also observed classmates writing incident reports as a way to draw the school’s attention to such behaviour.
“Schools don’t even notice unless a complaint is filed,” they added.
“It’s as though they don’t realise how their students are struggling mentally and dealing with bullying.”
Source: andresr on Canva for illustration purposes only
Netizens feel the reason is due to higher visibility
In a poll by Answers.sg, 85% of 579 respondents believe that bullying has increased in Singapore.
However, some netizens believe it is a case of higher visibility.
One Redditor felt that bullying cases seem more “serious” nowadays as more cases are being “reported” and “recorded”.
Another netizen agreed, saying that phones and social media allow us to easily witness these bullying cases.
Source: Reddit
Meanwhile, some commenters noted that school bullying has always been present, but that bullies now “feel more empowered” by social media.
Source: Reddit
For the student who wrote the post, the reason behind why bullying exists among children is a simple one.
“They want to feel happy and confident, strong, or even tough, so they bully,” they said.
Students encouraged to report bullying and harmful behaviour
According to the Ministry of Education (MOE), from 2019 to 2023, the yearly average of reported bullying incidents has remained steady at two per 1,000 primary school students and six per 1,000 secondary school students.
Schools have clear rules against bullying, which are regularly communicated to students along with safe reporting channels.
Source: Google Maps
Should you experience or witness bullying, here is what you could do:
- Stay calm
- Move away and seek help from adults nearby
- Alert your teachers and parents
MOE also encourages students to report any bullying or harmful behaviour, online or offline, to teachers, school leaders, parents, or other trusted adults.
Also read: Desmond Lee says in-school suspension ‘will be studied & considered’ amid bullying review by MOE
Desmond Lee says in-school suspension ‘will be studied & considered’ amid bullying review by MOE
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