Two very pertinent issues were raised in FMT on Oct 16, 2016 by two important persons.

The education minister said his ministry is considering a one year suspension of schoolchildren found bullying others in school, “if the plan receives public approval”. He has correctly observed that “bullying in schools is getting serious”.

If educational experts, psychologists and criminologists are certain that this is the best thing to do, and it will produce positive results, ie the children will turn over a new leaf after one year’s absence from school, then why require “public approval” as the public or the men in the street are not experts in this area?

The ministry should take the bull by the horns and not pass the buck to the public. Instilling school discipline requires prescriptive methods, not choices by the public or parents. Doctors prescribe. Similarly the education system must prescribe the method for maintaining the good health of school discipline.

The other issue raised by Professor Tajuddin Rasdi of UCSI University is that current research efforts were “totally detached from the needs of the society”. He said a lot of the research papers that had been produced gave no benefit to society and those that had the potential to do so were not followed through.

School discipline is a very, very important national matter as schools can make or break nations. Has any research, let alone serious research been done to identify the causes of school indiscipline and put in place a practical system to contain indiscipline right from Year 1 through Forms 5 and 6?

The schools of the 1950s and 60s maintained strict discipline of their charges throughout their school life. Of course, this was based on the age old, time tested and proven adage ‘spare the rod and spoil the child’. Teachers used the light cane when really necessary to do so and without going overboard and injuring children. Not every child required this ‘medicine’. Many of our present leaders themselves could vouch for this.

By the late 60s it became politically incorrect to continue that proven system. It was substituted with a formal subject called ‘Moral Education’. Indiscipline started setting in. This was acknowledged and the blame was put on the subject not being an examination subject and teachers were blamed for not teaching it seriously.

A knee jerk solution - upgrade the subject to an examination subject. But indiscipline continued getting worse.

This time the scapegoat was that the subject was not a compulsory examination subject and children could choose not to sit for it. Another knee jerk solution - upgrade to compulsory examination subject.

It was done, but the discipline has kept going down, down, down to the level it has come to today.

Child discipline is a behavioural matter

How can educationists forget that child discipline is a behavioural matter and not something that can be ‘taught’ through academic lessons like maths and science?

When discipline goes down, so does academic performance.

Declining academic performance was managed with another novel knee jerk solution - by lowering the passing marks. Thus passing marks for the various subjects have never been consistent like in the 50s. A good Malay friend used to make fun of this novel way of maintaining a semblance of good academic performance, saying, “When you can’t raise the bridge, lower the river” - to let the boat pass.

Take the example of the best primary school in Alor Setar, Kedah in the 50s and 60s - Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Tunku Abdul Halim. By the late 80s, this boys’ school of 700 had deteriorated academically to almost the bottom of the list.

Surprise? No. By this time, the children were in charge of the school and not the teachers. They would walk in and out of classes during lessons without teachers’ permission. They would jump on desks from desk to desk when teachers turned their backs to write on the board. The classrooms, corridors, flower pots and the field would be full of children’s litter.

The shouting of the children could be heard a hundred meters away, and teachers would be shouting to try and control them. With discipline so bad, academic performance also became similarly bad. The two go hand in hand and ‘seperti pinang dibelah dua’, both are either good or bad.

Mind you, this is a primary school. What happens when they go to secondary school, and then into society as adults?

A serious ‘research’ on the most practical, cost-effective and daily on-going method for schools to use to mould children’s character starting from standard 1 would be a very, very useful research that would benefit the nation tremendously, as child character grows into adult character. If child indiscipline is not corrected in childhood, it cannot be corrected in their youth and adulthood. This is the hard truth of child character development.

Such a research project cannot be done in a year or two or three. It has to begin with Year 1 children, and follow the children until they leave school. To be ‘scientific’ it would have to involve persons from a few different disciplines, ie a team effort. And it must be free from political interference.

Mindsets have to change

To begin with, mindsets have to change, ‘political correctness’ has to be set aside and long term national interests given priority above ‘public approval’. The public will approve after they see results. So don’t put the cart before the horse.

What is wrong with today’s parents and teachers if they cannot even control children? For schools to be unable to maintain child discipline is the same as the police being unable to maintain law and order in society. Is that acceptable?

On March 12, 2015, at the 9th forum on Crime and Policing in Malaysia themed ‘Policing Strategies in Reducing Violent Crimes’ at USM Penang, I had asked the police whether the indisciplined school children of today would automatically change into disciplined adults of tomorrow? No coherent answer was given.

Is it a mere coincidence that while discipline in schools has deteriorated to a deplorable level, there has been a corresponding increase in crime in society? Even school children are involved in criminal activities these days, are they not?

I sincerely hope both Professor Tajuddin Rasdi and Education Minister Mahdzir Khalid will go beyond just expressing their views on the deplorable school discipline and current research efforts that are “totally detached from the needs of the society”.

Let’s do some serious work, and not take simplistic, knee-jerk actions as child discipline has very far reaching consequences for the future of the nation.

Prevention is better than cure.

Mencegah lebih baik dari mengubati.