KLUANG: The Education Ministry will step up its anti-bullying measures in the new school session this year to ensure a safe learning environment for children, says Datuk Dr Aminuddin Kassim.
The Education secretary-general said the ministry will place greater focus on the issue, including through the establishment of a security task force to address bullying.
“We will zoom in on matters related to bullying so that if such incidents occur, we will be better equipped to address them.
“This includes providing counselling and early exposure on safety matters,” he told reporters when met at SK Dato' Onn Jaafar in Simpang Renggam here Monday (Jan 12).
He also emphasised the importance of fostering peer bonding among schoolchildren as a way to encourage them to protect one another against bullying.
“That is why, as I mentioned in my speech, it is important for schoolchildren to care for and look out for one another.
“With such bonding, when they see that their friends feel threatened or uncomfortable, they themselves will step in to help,” he said.
On the progress of the first day of school here, Aminuddin said some 5.3 million schoolchildren, including 615,120 in Johor, made their way to school on Monday.
“So far, everything has been running smoothly and we have yet to receive reports of any issues involving the first day of school today and yesterday for the group that started yesterday,” he said.
