Kelantan education department says excessive joking leading to student injuries may be classified as bullying and must be avoided.
PASIR PUTEH: Excessive joking among school students that leads to injuries can be considered a form of bullying and should be avoided, said the Kelantan State Education Department (Kelantan JPN) director Siti Norina Muhamad.
She said that actions often considered mere jokes can have serious consequences for students if something undesirable happens.
“Sometimes we consider joking as a habit and not something serious. However, I want to emphasise that excessive joking that leads to injury can be considered a form of bullying and should be avoided.
“The safety of students at school is a non-negotiable. We place great importance on the safety of children, which is why various initiatives and collaborations have been implemented to address safety issues,” she said to reporters after officiating the closing ceremony of the Hibiscus Student Safety Campaign at Sekolah Menengah Sungei Petai, Pasir Puteh, which involved more than 500 students from seven secondary schools in the Pasir Puteh district today.
Siti Norina said that student safety not only involves physical aspects but also encompasses emotional, mental, social and digital well-being, which have now become among the main challenges in the educational environment.
She said that today’s students are also exposed to various risks, including cyberbullying, drug abuse, sexual crimes, the spread of false information and the misuse of social media.
“Knowledge of safety and the ability to act wisely have become essential life skills that today’s students must master,” she said.
She also emphasised that the involvement of government agencies, the private sector, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and the community is crucial to ensure that the student safety agenda can be implemented comprehensively.
Meanwhile, HSSE Hibiscus Malaysia safety and worker welfare manager Ir Mohd Azwani Abdul Rani, said that the safety campaign is one of the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in contributing to the well-being of the community, particularly the younger generation.
“We believe that building a safety culture does not only start when someone enters the workforce, but should be nurtured from school days,” he said.
