CORPORAL PUNISHMENT METED OUT ON BOY PUPILS AND NECESSITY OF RETAINING SUCH PUNISHMENT IN SCHOOLS

From my discussions with various stakeholders over the years, I noted that a number of schools do not impose corporal punishment in practice. In these schools, the focus is on identifying the factors that led to the child committing the disciplinary offence and dealing with them. I therefore posed a question to the Minister for Education on the relevance of corporal punishment in our schools. My parliamentary question and the Minister’s response are set out below.

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Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Education (a) in each of the past five years, how many boy pupils have been meted corporal punishment in schools with caning on the palms of their hands or on their buttocks over the clothing under regulation 88 of the Education (Schools) Regulations; and (b) whether there is a need to retain such punishment in schools.

Mr Chan Chun Sing: Between 2019 and 2023, the number of male students caned in schools remained stable.

In schools, caning is carried out as an educative and disciplinary measure for serious offences committed by male students, when other corrective actions have been exhausted. Paired with counselling, it serves as an effective deterrent to further student offences, and contributes to a safe school environment conducive for learning.