KUALA LUMPUR: The Education Ministry plans to increase the number of guidance and counselling teachers if cases of school bullying persist and exhibit an upward trend, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.
Deputy Minister Lim Hui Ying said guidance and counselling were among the immediate measures that could be taken to address this social issue in schools.
"The bullies must be given proper guidance to understand why they should not engage in bullying. So, counselling is very important," she said in reply to Dr Ahmad Fakhruddin Fakhrurazi (PN-Kuala Kedah) during Question Time.
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Lim also said that based on the ministry's Sistem Sahsiah Diri Murid statistics, bullying incidents at schools had shown an increase, with 4,994 cases recorded as of October 2023, compared to 3,887 cases last year.
She said all of these cases have been investigated, and follow-up actions have been taken with a focus on providing guidance and counselling to those involved.
"Our objective is to ensure that bullying cases can be reduced, especially by providing appropriate guidance to both the bullies and the victims," she added. -- BERNAMA
