Saratok: The Education Ministry (MOE) has ordered all state education directors and district education officers to conduct spot checks on schools to curb bullying in school. Education director-general Dr Mohd Azam Ahmad said the officials have to also visit boarding schools at night not only to monitor but to get to know and understand how boarding school students live.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Dr Mohd Azam emphasized the need for unannounced visits to schools. ‘Maybe we need to go down without being told. We go to schools, look at the situation there, we want to see the nature of the school, how things happen. We might visit at night to see dormitories,’ he told reporters after the MADANI Teachers Appreciation Event officiated by Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek.

He added that school principals and headmasters were instructed by the ministry to lead chants of ‘Kami Benci Buli’ (We Hate Bullying) before and after each school session to instill a sense of abhorrence for bullying in the hearts and minds of students and pupils.

Dr Mohd Azam also revealed that the ministry would improve security features in schools, especially boarding schools, to curb bullying incidents such as adding the number of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras and the number of dormitory wardens.

He urged all parties, including teachers, Parent-Teacher Associations, and local communities, to play their roles in ensuring the safety of students in dormitories, especially at night.