Anwar warns schools against hiding bullying, safety incidents
KUALA LUMPUR: Schools must not cover up bullying or safety incidents to protect their reputation at the expense of students, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim warned schools against hiding bullying or safety incidents to protect their reputation, even at the expense of students' well-being. This came after police urged schools not to conceal safety issues in order to facilitate a more effective response from law enforcement. Anwar cited instances where schools allegedly avoided reporting incidents to maintain a good image and performance metrics, which put the students who were being abused and distressed at risk.
He stressed that protecting a school's image should never take priority over the safety and well-being of students. Saifuddin Abdullah of the PKR party shared concerns about the lack of urgency and leadership in dealing with school safety cases, highlighting previous delays in addressing student safety issues and questions raised by lawmakers not being adequately answered.
Both Anwar and Saifuddin agreed that improvements were necessary, including better standard operating procedures, CCTV coverage, entry and exit controls, additional counselors, and safety audits.
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- Don’t cover up bullying cases to protect school’s image, says Anwar freemalaysiatoday.com
