An academic has questioned the actual number of bullying cases in schools after education minister Fadhlina Sidek yesterday said 7,681 cases were recorded in schools under the education ministry last year.
In a written parliamentary reply yesterday, Fadhlina said the 7,681 cases last year – 5,689 in secondary schools and 1,992 in primary schools – marked a 17.7% increase from the 6,528 cases in 2023.
In a Facebook post, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s (UKM) Anuar Ahmad said the 7,681 reported bullying cases in 2024, spread across 190 school days, worked out to an average of 40 cases a day.
“This is extremely high,” he said.
“This is only the official data on bullying cases in schools under the education ministry. What about cases in private schools and tahfiz institutions?
“And what about bullying cases that go unreported because victims fear for their safety, feel ashamed, or for other reasons? Nobody knows the real number (but) it is certainly not a small figure.”
Anuar, the deputy director of the Malaysian Institute of Inclusive Development and Advancement (MINDA-UKM), also called for data on bullying cases reported between January and August this year.
Stating that the trauma and psychological effects of being bullied will stay with victims for life, Anuar questioned the effectiveness of anti-bullying measures in schools.
“Both government and opposition parliamentarians should press the education minister on this in the Dewan Rakyat. This is not about politics. This is about the safety and future of our children.”
There have been several widely-publicised cases of bullying in schools recently.
Form 1 student Zara Qairina Mahathir, who died after allegedly falling from the third floor of her school’s hostel in Papar, Sabah, last month, was allegedly bullied before her death.
On Tuesday, a Form 3 student fell from the third floor of his school’s dormitory building in Sabak Bernam, Selangor, with the education ministry stating that bullying was one of the factors being considered in its probe into the incident.
Last week, a group staged a protest in front of the education ministry’s headquarters in Putrajaya calling for Fadhlina to resign if she was unable to address the rising number of bullying cases in schools.
