A recent spate of disturbing incidents in schools — including gang rape, relentless bullying, and even a fatal stabbing — has reignited the debate over whether teachers should be allowed to cane their students as a means to shape their character.
In response, the Education Ministry plans to introduce “Character Studies” in schools. However, it is unlikely that the programme will include provisions allowing teachers to administer corporal punishment.
The Penang Case: The Spark Behind the Debate
This discussion has been reignited by the case of two teachers from SMJK Chung Hwa Confucian in Penang, charged with caning a Form Three student in two separate incidents in 2023.
The charges, under Section 324 of the Penal Code, carry a possible 10-year prison term, a fine, whipping, or both. One teacher, Choong Kean Beng, has since retired; the other, Lau Teik Hwa, remains in service. Both pleaded not guilty.
Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh, whose constituency includes the school, has urged the AGC to reconsider the prosecution, warning that it may instil fear among teachers performing their duties.
He noted that the AGC has the discretion to review such cases and that doing so here “would be appropriate given the issues raised.”
DAP national adviser Lim Guan Eng echoed the concern, warning that if this sets a precedent, “no one would want to be a teacher — or care about their students anymore.”
Last weekend, about 300 people gathered outside the school, led by activist Kuan Chee Heng (Uncle Kentang), to show solidarity with the teachers. Protesters held white balloons and banners reading “Do not treat our teachers like criminals” and “Honour those who taught you.”
The National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) also supported the rally, calling for a fair review of caning policies and for society to better understand teachers’ roles and limits.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), however, stood by its decision, stating that the teachers had acted “beyond the limits of the rules” and stressing that the prosecution was necessary to protect children’s welfare — especially as the student involved was reportedly a special needs child.
The AGC added that the charges were not meant to undermine the teaching profession, but to ensure that discipline always remains within the boundaries of law and compassion.
As a former teacher, if you were to ask me whether teachers should be allowed to cane their students, my answer would be that the question is badly formulated.
It is badly formulated because it demands a categorical answer — a simple yes or no — to a question that cannot, and should not, be answered in categorical terms.
Both categorical answers would, in fact, be wrong, because if were tosay that teachers should never be allowed to cane students, we risk creating a generation that grows without the moral strength society once instilled through firm guidance. In such a vacuum, students may instead be shaped by forces beyond society’s control — and sometimes, into behaviours society later deems alarming. unacceptable or anti-social.
On the other hand, if we say that teachers should be allowed to cane students, we risk opening the door to new harms — raising an entire generation of traumatised individuals, scarred by the fear and pain inflicted by teachers who may lack the temperament or moral authority to wield that power responsibly.
To avoid making these sort of categorical mistake, it is is perhaps better if we were to approach this question analytically, rather than address it categorically.
To approach it analytically, perhaps the best way to start is by asking the question: Under what conditions can a teacher be trusted to use corporal punishment responsibly — and do such conditions exist in our society today?
The Correct Approach
Personally, as a former teacher, if you were to ask me whether teachers should be allowed to cane their students, my response would be that the question is badly formulated. It is badly formulated because it is designed to elicit a categorical response, while this question cannot be answered in a categorical form.
It can’t be answered in a categorical form because both categorical answers would be wrong. If you say that teachers shouldn’t be allowed to cane their students, you are denying society the ability to mold students’ character with strength — which may then result in students being shaped by influences outside of society’s control, leading them to behave in ways that society finds alarming, unacceptable or anti-social.
However, if you say that teachers should be allowed to cane their students, you risk creating a new set of problems — producing an entire generation of traumatised students who react to life in cowardly servile, resentful or angry fashion, after having experienced years of violence, intimidation and fear at the hands of inexperienced teachers who should never have been afforded the privilege of caning students.
Rather than look at the issue categorically, I think the better way to address the question is to dissect it analytically. The first question we should ask ourselves before deciding whether teachers should be allowed to cane their students is: what are the ideal conditions under which it should be allowed?
The ideal condition for allowing a teacher to cane a student is when the student admires the teacher, and the teacher has goodwill toward the student.
If you are Lionel Messi, and you are teaching a student who loves football how to play, and you genuinely want to help that student become as good a footballer as possible, then you should be allowed to discipline your student as you see fit. Being Lionel Messi, you probably wouldn’t even want to cane your student unless it was absolutely necessary. Having achieved a lot of recognition and success in your life, you probably wouldn't be tempted to intimidate or dominate the students under you, to make you feel more successful, accomplished or capable.
When a teacher with goodwill canes a student who admires them, the punishment will not be seen as violence or intimidation, but as an act of love and concern — a last resort to overcome weakness and help the student become who they themselves aspire to be.
However, if you are a teacher who is not admired by your students, or if you do not genuinely care for them, then you should not be allowed to administer corporal punishment.
The Decline of Admiration
We often look at the past and conclude that previous generations were more disciplined and virtuous because teachers then were allowed to cane their students. But we must understand that such outcomes were only possible because, in the past, teachers were more respected and admired by society.
If you were a teacher back then, you likely belonged to the upper echelon of your village or town's community. When your community held a function, you would have been seated on stage or in the front row. When your community looks up to you, it is easy for the students in the community to admire you — and when students admire their teachers, it becomes natural for teachers to restrain their anger and act out of care rather than dominance.
Afterall, why would anyone punish someone who wants to emulate them? Rather than feel anger, a teacher in that position would naturally feel flattered and concerned about the student who is desirous of emulation them, and be given to invest their time, attention and effort, to help the student achieve their aim.
Today, however, we must ask ourselves: do teachers still belong to the upper echelon of their communities? If they no longer sit in the front row at community events, will students still admire them? If students no longer admire their teachers, will they still want to emulate them?
If students don’t desire to emulate their teachers, how can teachers effectively mold them? If a teacher must engage in the thankless task of shaping students who don’t admire or respect them on a daily basis, how long will they be able to maintain their goodwill and concern toward the students.
When a teacher is forced to control and mold students who don’t respect them, there is a great temptation to resort to corporal punishment — not to guide, but to intimidate and instill fear, to force respect, and to weaken students emotionally and spiritually so they are easier to manage and control.
This is dangerous. It breeds a generation of emotionally and spiritually fragile students — some broken inside, others resentful toward society for forcing them to endure such treatment. And on a bad day, when an overworked, underappreciated teacher faces a rebellious student, things can also get out of hand and lead to tragedies.
The Real Reform: Restoring the stature of Teachers
So rather than ask whether we should allow teachers to cane students, I think the preliminary step should be to raise the stature of teachers — so that they are once again admired by their students.
If we succeed in doing that, students will be more willing to be molded by their teachers, and teachers will naturally develop more goodwill toward their students. When such conditions are met, teachers will not be driven by anger or ego to punish — and can be trusted to administer discipline with love, fairness, and restraint.
When that happens, students who are punished will not feel traumatised or humiliated. Instead, they will likely appreciate the discipline and use it as a turning point for self-improvement — seeing it as a sign of their teacher’s care and concern, rather than as an act of domination by someone they neither admire nor respect
TheRealNehruism (nehru.sathiamoorthy@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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