Govt, schools and parents must work together to protect students, says Anwar
KUALA LUMPUR: Student safety and well-being cannot rest solely on schools, as character building and upbringing begin within the family, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told the Dewan Rakyat today.
While stressing that firm action must be taken against acts that threaten students, Anwar said long-term solutions require a collective effort involving parents, teachers, school administrators and the government.
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“Firm action is necessary, but to be fair, everyone must play their role.
“Parents cannot afford to completely detach themselves from their children’s lives, nor can schools delay reporting cases such as bullying or mental health struggles.
“The Education Ministry must also act swiftly where needed,” he said during Prime Minister’s Question Time.
Anwar was responding to a supplementary question from Indera Mahkota MP Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah on holistic measures to ensure student safety nationwide.
Clarifying that his remarks were not intended to place blame on parents, the Prime Minister reiterated that a strong family structure remains the foundation of a stable society.
“I am not placing the blame entirely on parents, but the responsibility of the family unit must remain foundational.
“A nation stands on strong family units. Therefore, when addressing these problems, we should not only feel regret after a report surfaces,” he said.
Highlighting the scale of the national education system, which comprises 10,259 primary and secondary schools, more than five million students and 428,379 teachers, Anwar said monitoring every corner of the system remained a major challenge.
He said student safety incidents, ranging from physical bullying and abuse to serious injuries, attempted suicides and fatalities, had been recorded in several states, including Kelantan, Sabah, Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Johor.
While Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras were being installed on school premises, Anwar acknowledged that technical surveillance could not cover every area.
As a result, the Education Ministry has introduced targeted interventions, including the Special Taskforce for Institutional Safety Reform in collaboration with the police and parent-teacher associations, as well as mandatory safety audits, enhanced hostel supervision, expanded student counselling services and mental health initiatives.
