Pupils involved in bullying incident counselled and disciplined, parents called up: Mee Toh principal

SINGAPORE — All of the Primary 5 pupils from Mee Toh School involved in a high-profile bullying incident — except one who has been on sick leave — have been counselled and disciplined accordingly, said the school’s principal Mrs Wang-Tan Sun Sun on Wednesday (March 11).

Responding to queries by TODAY, Mrs Wang-Tan said the pupils regretted their actions and have apologised to the victim. 

“We have spoken to the parents of the students involved in the incident and they understood the seriousness of their children’s actions. Together, we will work with the parents to ensure that the children learn from their mistakes,” she added.

Mrs Wang-Tan said she had a long discussion with the victim’s parent and assured her that the school takes the incident very seriously.

“While inappropriate misconduct does happen from time to time, it is not the culture of our school, and our students are generally respectful, kind and helpful,” she said, adding that Mee Toh is a secular school with a secular curriculum. 

“The school upholds the fundamental values of mutual respect, racial harmony and social unity... in this case, the group of Primary 5 pupils committed an unacceptable act that goes against the values that the school stands for,” she said. 

On March 6, Twitter user @4YSLZ posted a series of tweets about an incident where her sister’s classmates had thrown pieces of paper with insulting notes in her sister's face and picked on her for being Malay.

She added that this was not the first time her sister had been bullied and that she had been called names, cyberbullied and had her uniform vandalised in the past.

This prompted a response from Education Minister Ong Ye Kung, who said the incident goes against society’s “fundamental values”.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Mr Ong said bullying is "wrong and cannot be tolerated anywhere, especially in schools”.

Mrs Wang-Tan said that after the school was informed of the incident, investigations started immediately. Within three working days, the investigations were completed and disciplinary actions were decided on. 

In response to TODAY’s queries, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said bullying of all forms is wrong and schools take a strong stand against it. 

The ministry defines bullying as “persistent behavior intended to cause hurt, distress or humiliation” that can be "physical, verbal or psychological in nature”.

It added that it works with schools to put in place various prevention and intervention measures.

“Our teachers cultivate positive teacher-student and peer relationships so that there is a culture of care and mutual respect in our classrooms.

“Schools have also put in place peer support systems where peer supporters look out for their classmates, and report or seek help from their teachers when they observe situations that affect the safety of their classmates,” it said.

Join our Telegram channel for TODAY's top stories: https://t.me/todayonlinesg 

Asked about the number of bullying cases reported to MOE in the last year, the ministry shared that the number “remains low and stable” over the past five years.

“However, even though the numbers remain low, we treat each incident with utmost concern. When bullying incidents are reported, they are promptly investigated and appropriate disciplinary actions taken against the bullies,” said the ministry, adding that school staff will provide guidance to the bullies to restore relationships with those they have hurt.

MOE said that schools will also check on the well-being of the student who was bullied through counselling support and educating their classmates and friends, to help all affected students learn from the incident and prevent any future occurrence.