SINTOK: The Kedah Menteri Besar today said the guidelines on punishment of students as practiced in the Western education system are not suitable to be adopted in Malaysian schools.
Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said removing the power to mete out disciplinary punishment on students from teachers would defeat the purpose of schools in churning out an educated future generation.
"There is a group of ideas referred to as 'universal' or 'uniform' when it comes to education, promoting one universal way to educate students in this world.
"I don't think this is suitable because we are different. The Finnish system and the American system are suitable in Finland and America.
"Perhaps over there it is suitable not to mete out punishments (to discipline students) but it may not be the case in our society.
"This universal idea is no longer suitable, this cannot be applied here, we can't have only one set of rules for the whole world," he told reporters after opening a workshop on Enhancing Operational Engagement of Community Parents and Private Sector with the Parent-Teacher Associations in Kedah schools at the Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) campus, here.
Sanusi opined that such practice would compromise the role of the school system in educating children.
"I think if students can't be fined, can't be caned, can't be reprimanded and we can't scold them, we are just inviting danger into the (education) system.
"Maybe there are great experts who say that we can't do this and we have to do that, but in my opinion, we will be reduced to just breeding 'ayam daging' (broiler chickens) in schools.
"I don't know how the education minister will respond. It is up to him, but I am of the opinion that we shouldn't be breeding 'ayam daging' in schools. We need to produce educated people in schools," he said.
However, Sanusi stressed that teachers should comply with existing guidelines in meting out punishments to educate students and refrain from going overboard.
"Of course, we can't go overboard with the punishments. For example, teachers shouldn't be punishing students to do 100 squats until their thighs get sore.
"We need moderation. What is important is for the students to learn from their mistakes," he said.
Sanusi added that the education system in each country should be developed based on local cultures and backgrounds and not based on a universal system practiced in Western countries.
"God created us of different races and skin colors so that we can get to know each other.
"Universal standards should not be applied everywhere as standards need to be based on the cultural construct of different societies," he said.
Last month, it was reported that a 15-year-old student in Kulai, Johor, was hospitalised after she was allegedly forced to run 30 laps around a volleyball court as a form of punishment by her teacher. The matter was put to rest after the girl's parents had a meeting with the teacher.
The incident had prompted National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general Wang Heng Suan to urge the Education Ministry to update guidelines for student punishments in line with the current situation.
In November 2021, the ministry had issued a statement to inform the public that all disciplinary management procedures in schools would be based on guidelines, including the Education (School Discipline) Regulations 1959 and Professional Circular Letter (SPI) No. 8/1983: Imposing Ordinary Punishment on Students Who Commit Misconduct Not Stated in Lesson Rules.
The ministry was reported as saying that other related circulars were SPI Bil. 7/1995: Procedure for Imposing Actions and Punishment Against School Students; SPI Bil. 10/2001: All Teachers Are Disciplinary Teachers; SPI Bil. 7/2003: Power of Teachers to Cane Students; and SPI Bil. 7 of 2011: Implementation of Operating Standard Procedure (SOP) 1: 3: 7 Reporting and Actions to Address Disciplinary Issues.