Measures to protect school staff from abuse by parents and students

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Dr Shahira Abdullah, Nominated Member of Parliament

Question

To ask the Minister for Education what measures do schools have in place to protect school staff from abuse by parents and students.

Response

1. Our schools have established a good learning environment for students, where there is strong teacher-student relationship and respect for school staff. On rare occasions when teachers experience defiance from students beyond what they can handle, they are supported by their school leaders and student management team, who will investigate the incident, engage parents of the student, mete out appropriate consequences and enable students to improve their behaviour.

2. When engaging parents, school leaders and staff accord appropriate respect and courtesy, and the same is expected of parents in their interactions with our staff. Incidents of abuse by parents are not common. When parents use abusive words or threaten our school staff, MOE and school leaders will communicate a firm stand to these parents against such behaviour. In extreme situations where staff feel harassed or their safety is threatened by parents, the school may take further action, including calling the Police for assistance and using legal means, to protect staff from further harassment.

3. Parents play a critical role in instilling and role modelling the right values and appropriate behaviour in their children. Schools partner parents to develop our students holistically. We must create the right environment in our schools to nurture our next generation, where our educators and school staff feel supported in carrying out this important mission.