PPD and school management must be proactive in tackling bullying issue

KUALA NERANG: The District Education Offices and school managements must be more proactive in handling the problems of bullying to prevent the problem from deteriorating, said Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid.
He said such efforts included having discussions and meetings together with their respective district police chief to identify the hotspot areas with bullying elements.
"Bullying cases do not occur in all schools, with one district possibly having one or two schools facing the problem.
"The school management must forge closer relations with the police and if there are cases, do not be afraid to report them to the authorities," he told reporters after attending the programme to hand out Aidilfitri contributions by Padang Terap UMNO deputy division head, Datuk Ghazali Ibrahim, here yesterday.
He said this when commenting on the issue of bullying which occurred frequently lately, including the case of T.Nhaveen, 18, who died in George Town, Penang after being assaulted and abused by his colleagues.
Mahdzir also emphasised on the importance of disciplinary teachers and counsellors in each school to improve skills in facing students who had the tendency to bully or be bullied.
"However, I don't agree if the teachers are blamed when a bullying case occurs...the bullying problem is a joint problem that must be resolved by everyone," he said.
A total of 3,200 recipients from 143 UMNO branches in Padang Terap received the contribution in the form of sarong, glutinous rice and cash at the event. — Bernama