SCHOOL was once a place filled with laughter, curiosity, and friendship. Today, it has become one of the most dangerous spaces for our children. In just one week, two back-to-back incidents involving students have shaken the nation.
In the first, four Form Five students who should have been focused on their SPM exams — raped a Form Three girl. In the second, a Form Two student stabbed and killed his senior in the school toilet.
Two isolated cases, yes. But the question on every parent’s mind now is: what if my child is next?
Let’s get this straight. The teachers are not to be blamed. Schools don’t teach students to rape or kill. Their job is to educate, not to raise our children. The real problem lies elsewhere. It lies at home, and in the palms of our children’s hands.
Where do these kids get the courage to commit such vile acts? What are they watching, who are they talking to, and what kind of world are they being exposed to? The answer, unfortunately, is social media, which is a cesspool of filth when left unchecked. Parents today are far too lenient, far too trusting, and far too disconnected from what their children consume online.
It was reported that the student who stabbed his schoolmate bought his weapon online. How does a Form Two student even have that kind of access or spending power? Where were his parents? What were they doing while their son was browsing weapon-selling sites?
And what about the four who raped their junior? Where did they learn to behave like that? Certainly not from a moral education class. Somewhere, somehow, the adults failed these kids by not paying attention, by not setting boundaries, and by refusing to discipline.
Instead of pointing fingers at teachers, schools, or the Ministry of Education, it’s time parents looked in the mirror. Discipline begins at home.
When I was in school, it was tough as teachers and parents worked hand in hand. There’s a clear difference between being naughty and being evil. My generation, and the one slightly after mine, did stupid things, played pranks, bent rules, but we never crossed the line into cruelty.
I still remember when I was in Form One, I uttered the F-word in class. My teacher heard me and immediately called my father. That same evening, my dad left the imprint of his five fingers on my cheek. That was for a vulgar word. Imagine what he would have done if I had committed a crime like rape or murder. I probably wouldn’t be sitting here writing this opinion piece.
Parents today call it abuse. I call it accountability.
The only part where I agree with public criticism of the Ministry of Education is over its decision to allow the four accused rapists to sit for their SPM exams. Sure, they haven’t been charged yet but rape is rape. Whether you’re 17 or 27, statutory rape remains a crime.
These students should not be given the privilege of sitting for a national examination. The Ministry must send a message: commit a crime, face the consequences.
Let them serve as an example so that the next student even thinking of doing something similar will stop dead in his tracks.
It’s time we go back to the old school way, like literally. Let teachers discipline again. Let parents stop shielding their kids from consequences. Stop recording teachers for being strict, and start punishing your own children for doing stupid things.
Because if we keep letting things slide, we’ll soon be living in a world where the classroom feels more dangerous than the streets and that’s a future none of us can afford. - October 15, 2026
***T. Vignesh is an Executive Editor at Scoop
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