Caning for bullies? Singapore’s tough new school policy grabs attention

Singapore has made headlines once again after announcing caning for severe cases of bullying. Singapore's Minister for Education Desmond Lee said on Tuesday that male bullies would be subjected to caning as a last resort, only when "all other measures are inadequate", female will be exempted from the punishment in line with Singapore's Criminal Procedure Code, which states "women shall not be punished with caning".

He acknowledged the studies regarding corporal punishment in unregulated and informal settings and its negative outcomes. "Caning must be approved by the principal and administered only by authorised teachers," said Singapore's Minister of Education Desmond Lee. Schools shall consider factors such as maturity, age and whether it could help learn from his ability to learn from his mistakes.

“We recognise this, and I want to emphasise that the context in our schools is quite different,” said Singapore's Minister of Education. Lee added that it is a restorative or disciplinary measure against undesirable activity such as bullying, cheating, gambling and vaping. First-time offenders, both girls and boys, of serious misconduct face one to three days of detention, suspension, an adjusted conduct grade or all three together; only older boys will receive one stroke of the cane if there are aggravating factors.

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This approach is grounded in research, said Lee. BF Skinner is the father of Operant Conditioning have argued about various types of positive punishment, like caning and negative punishment, like removing a desirable stimulus, such as good grades, to induce children's behaviour of better choices. But his research led him to a quite sceptical end. He opined that positive punishment, like caning, can lead to develop long term character like being withdrawn, avoidant and escapist. He further argues that positive reinforcement, like rewarding a desirable behaviour, is more productive.

“Trained school personnel will also look out for signs of distress that may not be immediately visible or explicitly communicated, and provide timely and appropriate support,” said Lee. The Ministry of Education is also managing cyberbullying, such as harassment, doxxing and intimate image abuse, as a serious problem and is planning to initiate need-based funding to hire youth workers, pastoral care officers and parent liaison officers - roles intended to support student management and ease teachers’ workloads. It is also planning to launch an Online Safety Commission at the end of June to help children seek more help in case of bullying or abuse.