Management of bullying cases in Admiralty Secondary School

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Ms Hazel Poa, Non-Constituency Member of Parliament

Question

To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether the Ministry has data on the average number of cases of bullying reported per student studying at Admiralty Secondary School in each year since 2020; (b) if so, how many; and (c) how does such number of reported bullying cases compare to those of other secondary schools.

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Ms Hazel Poa, Non-Constituency Member of Parliament

Question

To ask the Minister for Education whether the recent assault incident on 7 January 2025 in Admiralty Secondary School has triggered a review of current punishment and procedures for handling assault and bullying cases in schools with a view to shifting the current balance between punishment and rehabilitation.

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Ms Hazel Poa, Non-Constituency Member of Parliament

Question

To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether the Ministry has conducted investigations into an alleged assault at Admiralty Secondary School on 7 January 2025; (b) if so, whether results of the investigations can be released; (c) whether any investigations have also been conducted on the suicide of an ex-student of Admiralty Secondary School in 2023, in particular, allegations that school leaders and the school principal dismissed the student's complaints about being bullied; and (d) whether any actions have been taken against perpetrators or school leaders involved in each case.

Combined Response

1. Mr Speaker, with your permission, I would like my response to PQ7193 to also address Written Question No. PQ6525 in today's Order Paper, and Written Question No. PQ6533 which is scheduled for a subsequent sitting. I invite Members to seek clarifications if need be. I will also make some broader comments on how we should handle such incidents as a society.

2. I thank Parliamentary Members and members of the public for showing concern for the well-being of our students. MOE takes a serious view of any act of bullying or violence.

1. No one should be bullied.
2. No one wants to be bullied.
3. No one should bully.

3. MOE monitors these cases that are reported to or are identified by our schools – whether the incidents happen in or outside schools, online or offline.

1. While cases of physical bullying are relatively stable and manageable, other associated issues have arisen, especially online, to compound our concerns.
2. First, the virality of social media postings has heightened sensitivities and increased social media vigilante actions. These can normalise the extremes and hinder rehabilitative actions.
3. Second, the unhelpful involvement of even a minority of adults can complicate the situations and compound the challenges faced in guiding our students.

Admiralty Secondary School Bullying Incidents Compared to National Statistics

4.For Admiralty Secondary School, in the past five years, there was an average of about two incidents of bullying per year per 1000 students, both within and outside of school. This is no higher than the national average of bullying cases in Secondary schools.

Account of 7 January Incident

5.Regarding the alleged assault case at Admiralty Secondary on 7 January, preliminary investigations by MOE reveal that it was not an incident of bullying but an altercation that happened between two new Secondary One students during the transition between periods. This resulted in one student striking the other on the head with a plastic water bottle, giving rise to a cut on the student's head. The Form Teacher intervened immediately on witnessing the scene and separated the students. The injured student received first aid for the cut on his head, while the school leaders called for an ambulance to convey him to hospital.

6. Based on MOE's investigations so far, the school had acted appropriately to support the student's well-being. The school had ensured that he received medical care in a timely manner. During his medical leave, the school maintained communication with his parents, provided learning support for the child and monitored his well-being. The student has since returned to school. The school has also been assisting the Police in their ongoing investigations of the case.

7. The student who struck the other student has been suspended, is being counselled and will face further disciplinary actions when he returns to school. The school will also facilitate the restoration of relationships between the two students when they are both back in school. The objective of these educative and restorative efforts is to help students learn and grow through these experiences.

8. 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. Without the full facts, let us not speculate or jump in to complicate matters further.

Account of 2023 Incident

9. Regarding the incident involving a former student of Admiralty Secondary who fell from height in 2023, MOE is deeply saddened by this loss and our condolences are with her family and loved ones.

10. The causes and possible triggers for suicides are complex and multifaceted. When it happens, our school leaders seek to extend help to affected students and families and work closely with families in managing their grief.

11. When our schools manage these situations, MOE maintains strict confidentiality and does not disclose the details of the incidents or the child's family circumstances to the public out of respect for the family's privacy and in view of the sensitive nature of these matters.

12. 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. Given that this particular student's case has now been made known to the public, I would like to assure Members that the school had gone above and beyond in supporting this student when she was experiencing emotional challenges. When the school was informed that the student was going through some friendship issues, the school took action to guide the affected students to resolve their differences and to reconcile. A dedicated team comprising experienced school staff and school counsellor extended counselling to her and facilitated restorative conversations among the schoolmates. Even after this incident, when the student experienced other challenges, the school continued to provide support and intervention over several months.

13. Throughout this process, the school staff maintained communications with the student's family, reaching out to work with and support them. The one-sided allegations lobbed at Admiralty Secondary do not reflect the full picture. They do not do justice to the efforts that the school had made to help the student and her family in time of need. The outcome was not something any one of us wished to see happen, but the intent and efforts of the school to help the child and partner with the family should not be doubted.

Guidelines

14. Mr Speaker, at this juncture, while I will not comment on the specifics of various cases, let me share some broader reflections on how we should respond as a society to these and similar ones that have arisen.

15. When such incidents happen, some of us, including adults, may react reflexively or emotionally. The public court of opinion, often with an incomplete view, then reacts and complicates an already difficult situation.

16. 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. MOE will not tolerate such actions. We will do all that is necessary, including taking firm action in accordance with MOE's Engagement Charter and our laws, to safeguard the well-being of our staff and students while we work to counsel and discipline the students involved.

17. While these incidents are few, they incur disproportionate amount of time and bandwidth to manage - and must not be allowed to grow. While a small number of parents may think the schools have not done enough in their eyes to address their grievances, we can all be confident that our teachers have the best interest of our students at heart and will take care of them impartially, and not just a few or selected ones.

18. It is useful to remember that it is one thing for children to fight and quarrel. It is quite another for adults to jump in, take sides, aggravate the quarrel, and detract us from guiding our students towards reconciliation and rehabilitation. In the recent incidents, school leaders were flamed online, the school was unfairly represented, and the steadfast efforts of our educators to support all affected students were left unacknowledged and unappreciated. Mr Speaker and Members, I am sure we can all agree, we can and must be better than this.

19. I understand that many of us care deeply about the well-being of our students. Compassion forms the foundation of a strong, nurturing society that we all strive to build. While MOE continues to take a firm stance against bullying, take care of our children and staff, help feuding parties to heal and guide our children in the proper ways, we – as parents and the wider community – can also partner our teachers and play our part by reminding ourselves of the following:

1. One, what we hear and see online may not be what it is. Especially when we only choose to hear and see what we want.
2. Two, he who shouts the loudest and fastest, may not be the most innocent nor most accurate.
3. Three, swinging the sword of vigilantism in the dark, online and in real life, always hurts the innocent ones that one may claim to protect.
4. Four, broadcasting the extremes will normalise the extremes and encourage even more extreme behaviours.
5. Five, when we amplify one-sided perspectives, we should have a care if we are being used to further the agenda of specific individuals. Providing partisan support to feuding parties would only fuel the fire and embolden the feuding parties to be even more strident, making reconciliation more difficult.
6. Six, retributive justice must be coupled with rehabilitative justice. Punishment alone, without due care to rehabilitate, is not in line with the long-term developmental interests of our children.
7. Seven, hate begets hate. Respect begets respect. An eye for an eye, makes us all blind and robs us of our future and humanity.
8. Eight, we are our children's most important role models – if we act like bullies, online or offline, they will too. Threatening, doxxing and being disrespectful to other children and teachers are not actions that make our children better. This is also not how we demonstrate to our children that we care for them and protect them.
9. Nine, subverting the schools' authority, by appealing to external "higher" authorities or seeking to use the media to attack and cast aspersions on the schools and teachers, will make us all losers. Ultimately our children will no longer respect authority. Such actions also take up the precious time and bandwidth of our teachers, at the expense of other children and parents who deserve more.
10. Ten, when we, as adults and parents, shield our children who have done wrong from punishment, we are teaching them the wrong lessons. That perhaps, they do not have to take responsibility for their actions, that perhaps someone else is always at fault or that they will always be bailed out.

20. Let us work together, and not let the unrepresentative actions of a small minority colour the perception and behaviour of our children, our parents, our teachers and our schools. As parents and members of the public, let us work with our teachers to be positive role models, carefully considering how we should respond in ways that are helpful and kind. By sharing and responding to information thoughtfully and respectfully, we contribute to building a wiser and more compassionate society.